


The Apparition

by Aj090901



Category: One Piece
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, One Piece Universe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, oc-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 23,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27596548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aj090901/pseuds/Aj090901
Summary: A long journey is ahead of this lost little girl, and it just got so much more complicated with the addition of one Monkey D. Luffy. At first, you might think it would be a great idea to be childhood friends with the Monkey D. Luffy and you would be right. Yet the events to follow are not as … expected?Honestly fuck that. She WILL make a home for herself here. She may be lost and unclaimed- an apparition. She shouldn't be here - but she would take her life and make it worth living for - make it worth something.-----OC insert of childhood friend of Luffy's that he meets when he is four years old and she is six. Starts of there and slowly makes the way towards the beginning of One Piece and the sail of Captain Luffy and beyond.
Relationships: OC/?
Comments: 28
Kudos: 182





	1. Baby Hands

The lone figure stood still in shock as the flashing lights of the elevator blinded her sight. The woman could hear a voice coming from the emergency speaker, it was urgent and erratic, but it barely registered as she watched the tips of her hair float in front of her face. 

_ “They say that you know the moment in which you were falling” _ , but the weightless feeling barely even registered over the levitating hair that continued to dance perilously in front of the woman and caressing her face.

As the lights flickered to a stop, as her body lifted from the floor, as the momentum sped up, she could only stare at her hair around her. The dance her hair performed was truly beautiful. Her hair didn't whip around angrily like when you rolled down the window of your car, no it simply floated and gently danced around the other strands. 

If she had been younger, her first thought would have been that she was flying, but now her mind was only focused on the gentleness of her hair floating. As if a nice breeze had passed by her and tried to tempt her to move elsewhere. At least she would have no regrets except that she wished she had done something with her life. For there was no doubt what was about to happen to her, she was going to die. 

As her breath was pulled from her sharply, she closed her eyes in reluctance as the world began to speed up once more and one thought entered her mind.  _ “I want to live.” _

She felt her back hit the surface, only for her to fling her eyes back open in shock as a cold feeling washed over her sides and began to rise around her body. Desperately to draw in a breath as she sunk beneath the waves of the ocean. Shock riddled every part of her mind as her body immediately began to flail.

She was drowning. There was an underwater current pulling her body deeper into the water. 

She was sinking. She didn't know how she had come to be here, but she did know one thing: “ _ I want to live _ .”

She pushed her body with everything she had, she clawed viciously at the waves as they fought back just as strong. Desperately she squinted her eyes towards the fading light of the surface. She was making small progress, but her vision was turning black as her tears drifted into the sea and the light of the sun progressively distanced itself from her. 

She survived the elevator crash, she was given a second chance. Only to die before she could even understand how or why she was here. Before she could have the chance to live. “ _ I want to live. _ ”

Unable to keep fighting as she lost her strengths she slowly stilled as she sank to the bottom of the ocean. A shadow passing over her as she finally lost consciousness. All the while the distance between her and the sun only grew.

Abruptly, she awakens with water forced from her burning lungs. Coughing she desperately attempts to draw in breath after breath before turning her attention to the hardwood beneath her hands… her baby hands.

“You alright girly?”

The old voice draws her attention to the humongous guy kneeling next to her with a hovering hand, but it is unable to keep her attention as she turns back to the baby hands attached to her arms. 

Flexing the chubby fingers once she turned wide eyes back to the guy who was staring at her worriedly though his hand had retreated to lay on his knee. She tried to say something, to speak but the pain in her throat and the burning in her lungs stopped her. Bringing the hands up to her throat she felt like crying, only to realize she was already crying since the moment she had woke back up.

The man stared at her hands gripping her throat before turning and calling for a glass of water, all the while she tried to distract herself from the burning in her throat while attempting to place his face. He looked familiar but she wouldn't tell from where. She felt like she had seen him in passing, that she was supposed to know him or at least something about him. 

He turned back to her with the glass of water as he gestured for the man who wore a strange uniform that called that familiarity to her mind once more but she just couldn't place it. The strange soldier of sorts, it seemed, retreated to hide behind a corner where she noticed many others also hiding. Glancing around she could place many other uniformed people hiding around the ship.

The gruff voice called her attention back to the man in front of her as he spoke to her, “Are you from the Kingdom of Goa?”

She tilted her head confused at the man. Goa? As in Dawn Island? Is that a real place? Huh. Weird.

“Ah, maybe you fell off a boat?” The man muttered as he looked her over for any identifying features. “But there aren't any around, maybe a noble kid that was too distracted to notice you had fallen overboard, after all, you are dressed well.”

She turned her attention to the outfit she was wearing, a loose black white plaid skirt with black leggings and a black turtleneck. She had on black dress shoes with ombre pastel-colored embroidery and pastel purple bows attached to the back. She pulled the sleeves of the pastel purple shawl with baby blue, pink and yellow embroidery of flowers that was connected to the white belt on her skirt to bunch at her elbows to see a pretty purple bow with jewels on it and two dangling chains with teardrop jewels attached at the end connected to her turtleneck. As the jewels hit the light and began sparkling, she made a surprised noise in response to the clothes that she most definitely was not wearing in the elevator… the elevator. She wasn't in the elevator, nor anywhere near one - if the vast amounts of water surrounding them indicated anything.

She wasn't in her clothes, she wasn't in the elevator, and she had baby hands. The weeb in her could only bring forth one single answer, “Shit.”

At her response, the old man turned surprised eyes to her before letting out a bellowing laugh, “Do you know where you are from?”

“No.” She stated calmly as she took in the uniform once more as if it would give her a clue where she was. Now that she was looking at it on the old man it seemed familiar, it kinda looked like the marine uniforms from One piece.

She paused for a second as she thought over the conversation. Marines, The Kingdom Of Goa, nobles. Old man leading a marine vessel headed to the Kingdom of Goa. 

“Fuck,” She spoke again as she stared down the Monkey D. Garp because frankly who else could it be. Especially with the present circumstances.

Garp quickly got his laughter under control as he waved his hands furiously in front of him. “No no don't say that.”

She nodded her head hesitantly in response before Garp stared her down before shaking his head. “Huh, I  _ have  _ always wanted a granddaughter.”

“Garp!” The marines called as they rushed out of place as the girl looked back at him as if he was insane, which perfectly mirrored the rest of the faces of the marines.

“Ah,” Garp shook his head as he picked her up without asking. “Luffy’s gonna be thrilled that he gets a sister on his birthday. Not quite sure how I’ll be able to outdo myself next year.”

“Garp!”


	2. The Lost City

“We are docking now,” A marine called out as the others rushed around to perform their duties. 

Garp took a glance at them before picking the girl up while calling out to his men to make sure they did their jobs correctly. After confirming everything was in order he started making his way to the edge of the boat, “Behave! Stay on the ship, I will be back soon.” 

“Yessir!” The marines called as they saluted him while he waved his hands at them nonchalantly as he sat up the plank for boarding.

Garp calmly walked off the plank onto the plank with the little girl held up by his bicep, who was looking all around the area in wonder as they made their way off the docks. They slowly made their way towards Party Bar weaving his way through the locals who were calmly discussing different things.

Pushing the doors open he made his way to the bar where he finally sat the little girl down. Pulling away he turned to the shocked Makino turning his gaze from the girl then back to him.

“Garp-san? Who is this little girl?” Makino asked as she finally focused solely on the girl and gave a reassuring smile.

“My new granddaughter,” Garp spoke as he gestured at the girl. “Isn't she the cutest? Now, where's that grandson of mine?”

“Luffy’s with Gyaru-san, they are sorting the fish,” Makino commented offhandedly before stopping entirely as she calmly set down the glass she had been cleaning. “How did you get a new granddaughter?”

“I found her,” Garp shrugged as he sat at the barstool and rapped his hands on the wood beckoning for a drink. “Take good care of her.”

“Okay.” Makino shook her head in shock as she accepted the ridiculous logic Garp had presented to her. “So what is your name?”

“Ah, it should be something cool,” Garp commented, causing both of the girls to turn and stare at him. “What?”

“Shouldn't she tell us her name?”

“Why?”

“Garp-san! She probably has a name.”

“Um.” The little girl spoke up as she tugged on the sleeve of her jacket. She did have a name, but that was one she had never liked and it wouldn't make sense to hold onto the past. Therefore, she would receive a new name and live a new life.

Glancing at both of them she turned her attention back to her hands as she tried to think of a new name. She wanted to have something that represented how she was lost but would allow her to be her own. Something cool. Like…. “Atlantis.”

“Atlantis?” Garp muttered. 

“That sounds like a very pretty name,” Makino commented as the little girl smiled at her and took her hands into her own.

Garp smiled as he looked down at the smiling girl, “She’ll need a family name.”

“Hmm,” Makino turned back to her in question. “Do you know your family’s name?”

Shaking her head, the little girl turned her attention to the older man sitting beside them in question. 

“Do you want mine?” He asked with gleeful surprise.

Quickly, she shook her head in denial while Garp threw his head back in a laugh. Makino shook her head with a chuckle as a blush rose on Atlantis’ cheeks.

Makino got a thoughtful expression before she turned back to Garp, “Where did you find her?”

“The sea,” Garp commented with a laugh. “She got really lucky. She was drowning, but she hit an underwater current and it brought her straight up by the ship. She was lucky .”

“Wow, maybe you have a friend in the sea.” Makino giggled as she swept her hair back behind her ears before stopping. “A friend of the sea, Aerwyna?”

“I like that,” Atlantis grinned as she turned back towards Garp for approval who only shook his head.

“Monkey D. Atlantis.” Garp spoke out as the girls looked at him in agitation, “What a wonderful name.”

“Aerwyna Atlantis,” Makino spoke up as she stood up from the barstool.

“No no no,” Garp shook his head. “She is my granddaughter so she should be a Monkey D.”

“Garp!” Makino exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

“Monkey sounds great for a marine,” Garp muttered as he tapped his fingers onto the surface of the table.

“Aerwyna Atlantis,” Makino spoke up as she stood up from the barstool. “It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Makino.”

“It is a pleasure to have met you,” Atlantis bowed her hand in thanks as Makino looked pleasantly surprised at her manners.

Garp nodded his head in excitement, “My granddaughter. We should drink a glass in celebration”

“Garp!” Makino exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

“What?”

Shaking her head Makino made a glass of sake for Garp and handed a smaller glass of water to Atlantis. “Welcome to Foosha Village, Atlantis.”


	3. Cocococo-Nuts!

Garp stood from the stool moments later with a sigh as he sat his glass down with a clank. “Alright let's go find that brat.”

Atlantis hopped down from the stool and followed behind Garp at a slower pace, after waving goodbye to Makino who took both glasses to clean. Noticing the distance between them growing Garp slowed down so that Atlantis could keep up with his strides. When she noticed this, she reached up to grab onto the marine cloak in order to hide completely behind Garp as he made his way towards the UO fish store.

As they approached they found Luffy laying on the ground tossing his feet up in the air periodically as Gyoru sorted a box of fish in front of him. The man seemed to be sorting them by weight and seemed to also be taking a broken fishing pole into context as well.

Garp chuckled as he made his way closer to Luffy before pulling his fist back and smacking Luffy flat on his head. “Hey, Brat!”

“Ah,” Luffy cried out as he flipped around with a hand on his head and his fist up before blinking at the sight of Garp. A large smile broke out as he started dancing. “Grandpa!”

Garp shook his head as he watched Gyoru finish sorting the fish and giving Luffy a small bag of Beli. Luffy shoved the bag roughly in his pocket quickly before jumping in circles in front of Garp, “Grandpa! Did you get me a birthday present?”

“It better be a good one considering it's a week late,” Mayor Woop Slap muttered as he walked towards the rambunctious group. 

“Yeah!” Luffy hollered at the top of his lungs while he started his grandfather down. “Is it meat? I want meat! Meat!”

“It's something even better,” Garp dismissed with a wave of his hand as he moved slightly to the side revealing Atlantis, who could only stare with wide eyes at the main character of One Piece, the Future King of The Pirates. Monkey D. Luffy.

Luffy tilted his head with a frown as he stared Atlantis down, “No meat? I want meat. Do you have meat?”

Atlantis shook her head as Luffy tried to look behind her from his spot, clearly looking for hidden meat, at her denial Luffy scrunched his eyebrows up and turned his attention back towards his grandfather.

Meanwhile, Mayor Woop Slap dropped his cane in shock as he stared at the little girl, “A wife? You got this CHILD a wife?!”

“Ooh,” Luffy turned back to her with wide eyes. “What's a wife? Can you eat it?”

“Someone that will stand by your side forever. They help you achieve your dreams and grow.” Gyoru commented as he turned back into the conversation all the while Garp was laughing at the mayor's reactions before commenting.

“I didn't get him a wife. I got him-”

“I got a wife!” Luffy yelled happily, interrupting Garp, as he reached forward and grabbed hold of Atlantis’ hands. “Hey, what's your favorite food? Mines meat.”

“Coconuts,” Atlantis whispered as a blush arose onto her face.

“What are coconuts?” Luffy asked in confusion as he tilted his head. “Are they yummy?”

“Yeah,” Atlantis excitedly exclaimed. “It tastes sweet and a little nutty and you can use it to make other things, like meat, taste yummier.” Atlantis blushed at her rambling and tried to retreat but was unable to with Luffy’s hold on her hands.

“You can make meat better?!” Luffy exclaimed as he closed the distance between to stare at Atlantis with wonder in his eyes. “Woah. That's amazing. Coconuts. Coco. Imma call you Coco then.”

“But my name's Atlantis.”

“Ooh, that super cool.” Luffy nodded his head as he pinched his eyebrows together in thought. “But I like Coco too.”

“Luffy,” Garp called as he swung his fist at Luffy once more. Only Luffy dodged by running around while pulling Atlantis behind him. “Luffy! Come back here with my new granddaughter!”

“No! She's my wife!” Luffy yelled as he laughed loudly and pulled Atlantis towards the fields and away from the main market where Garp was calling after them. “Come on Coco, let's go.”

“LUFFY!” An angry voice bellowed from the market where a commotion could be heard, all the while Luffy snickered as he took a turn and continued to lead the now giggling Atlantis by the hand towards the windmills further into the island. 

Maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to be friends with such a person. After all, Atlantis was already having more fun than she had in her previous life as a child as she ran behind the laughing Luffy in her dress shoes that were quickly gathering dirt.


	4. Husband and Wife

Luffy tugged Atlantis towards the windmills, and once they reached the base of the first windmill they stopped while Luffy looked in thought down the left and right roads at the intersection, before tugging her towards the left where they began to curve back around the town and entered the main road close to Party Bar where he pulled her inside, all the while letting out giggles as he could hear Garp calling for him. 

Most likely Garp was headed down the road they had run down and would eventually realize he had been tricked, but by then they would already be with Makino in the bar.

“Makino!” Luffy called out as he entered the bar, the other residents who had filed in during the later hours after Garp had left to find Luffy turned with cheers of Luffy while Makino looked on fondly.

“Ah, so you’ve met-”

“Look at my wife!” Luffy excitedly lifted their hands that were conjoined as the rest of the bar fell into silence at Luffy’s comment. “She likes Coconuts. Hey, she said we can add coconuts to meat and it'll taste better. Can you do that? Can you?”

“Your wife?!” Makino’s eyes widened in shock as she looked between the two as she sat down on the bar stool with a breathless laugh, “Um Luffy I think she is actually-”

“My wife. Keep up, Makino. Can you cook coconut meat or not?” Luffy crossed his arms and brought Atlantis closer with a jerk as he refused to let go of her hand while staring Makino down with a pout on his face.

“I think I could if I had some coconuts,” Makino commented as she turned her attention to the opening door as Garp opened the door and turned his glare onto Luffy.

“Awesome. Oh hey, Gramps.” Luffy waved as he pulled himself onto the seat next to Makino and pulled Atlantis to stand beside him before he gestured to the seat next to him. “You can sit here Coco.”

Atlantis slowly climbed into the seat using one hand before turning her attention to Luffy who was looking at Makino with a pleading face.

“Makino-san? Can Coco and I have some meat?”

“Of course,” She commented as she stood up and made her way behind the bar as she began preparing some food for the two children.

Almost as soon as she moved from her seat Garp replaced her and rapped the counter as he turned to stare at Luffy and Atlantis, “Coco?”

“Yeah. My wife.” Luffy mumbled as he pulled up their hands to show them off to Garp.

“Your wife?” Garp laughed as he shook his head, “You are too young for a wife.”

“So Coco isn’t my wife?” Luffy tilted his head with a frown on his face. “How do I make her my wife, so we can stay together forever?”

Mayor Woop Slap placed his drink down on the counter with a sigh as he turned to face them. “Just ask her if she wants that, also Garp-san. If Atlantis marries Luffy, then she is still your daughter.”

“Ah, you're right,” Garp muttered before nodding his head. “Then she'll take the family name. Okay, Luffy she can be your wife.”

“Yay!” Luffy cheered as he raised their hands again. “You wanna be my wife Coco?”

“Mm, sure.” Atlantis giggled into her other hand while Luffy began cheering again and demanding meat in celebration of his marriage.

Makino laughed as she dished out the food and sat out the three plates in front of the trio alongside glasses of water while nodding her head, “Congratulations.” 

“Thanks, Makino-san.” Luffy coughed out around his food while he waved his fork around, before turning his attention to Atlantis’s plate where she was eating slowly. Noticing her speed Luffy swallowed his food in a gulp before patting her shoulder. “You okay Coco? You are eating very slow, like a turtle”

“I just eat slow,” She murmured as she continued to steadily clear her plate while Lufft made a noise of affirmation as he turned back to his food. Once Atlantis finished with the amount she was able to eat she pushed the leftover food towards Luffy so he could inhale the food.

“Good night Makino-san. Night Gramps.” Luffy called as he jumped out of his seat and patiently waited for Atlantis to follow him before grabbing her by the hand once more and pulling her towards a door behind the bar.

Garp grumbled as he watched them disappear behind the bar, “We are gonna need more room for them.”

Atlantis glanced behind at the bar seats as the door closed before turning her attention to Luffy who had let go of her hand to climb into the large bed in the center of the room. Looking around the room she could see a chest half opened with Luffy’s clothes stuffed inside. Next to that was a small table with a few scattered trinkets on top as well as a new candle that had yet to be used. 

On the other side were two doors, both open so that she could make out the signs of a bathroom and an empty closet. Turning her attention back to the bed she found Luffy sitting cross-legged with a smile as he watched her take in the room.

Giggling he patted the sheets next to him as he shuffled around to get under the cover, “You are staying right?”

“Yeah,” Atlantis huffed out as she climbed the side of the bed to sit next to him. On the corner of the bed, she pulled her shoes off, as well as her jacket, belt, and bow. Which was dropped on the floor as she settled under the cover with Luffy.

“Forever?” Luffy asked with wide eyes. “So I won't be alone anymore?”

Atlantis turned to see Luffy looking at her hopefully and could only think of her own childhood under harsh hands and forgetful parents before nodding her head in sympathy, “Yeah. As long as we are together, we won't ever be alone again. I promise.”

Holding out her pinky finger Luffy hooked his own with a grin as he threw his head back with a laugh, “It's a promise!”


	5. I Now Pronounce You

Atlantis awoke in the hours of the morning to the sound of a rooster crowing with the rise of the sun. She felt suffocated, yet extremely warm under the covers. The feeling of warmth was nice, but with the rooster calling out she felt the need to get out of bed.

She attempted to rise from the sheets only to feel the pressure of arms surrounding her preventing her from the simple action. Turning her head to the side she came nose to nose the Monkey D. Luffy, the ultimate cuddler.

Shaking her head fondly she put a little more effort in removing the arms before shuddering at the thought of escaping his arms after he would consume his devil fruit. Putting those thoughts in the back of her mind she stood and began making her way into the bar where Makino was already up and cleaning down the bar.

“Good morning,” Makino turned around in surprise before smiling as she nodded her head along.

“Good morning, Atlantis. Oh, I brought some of my old clothes that might fit you.”

Atlantis turned to the gestured pile and picked them up before nodding her head and moving towards the bathroom. The outfit consisted of a pair of black shorts and a white long sleeve button up. It was a little big on her but using her belt she was able to cinch the shorts at the waist.

Leaving the bathroom she found Makino now in the process of making food and Luffy sitting at the bar quietly, but once she entered the room he immediately shot up in glee, “Coco!”

Excitedly he patted the seat next to him as Atlantis made her way to the seat before attempting to help her up by tugging her arms while she was climbing up. By the time she was in the seat, Makino was setting plates down in front of them with one of her own to eat.

As they were eating, Atlantis noticed some strange sounds coming from outside. Taking one last bite she pushed the plate towards Luffy who stuffed his face full to follow after her as she made her way towards the closed window of the bar.

“Ah! Atlantis wait a minute,” Makino called out to the two, once their attention was on her she placed the plates in the sink before drying her hands and making her way towards them. “You can't go outside yet.”

“Why?” Luffy asked as he tilted his head from his spot behind Atlantis who narrowed her eyes at Makino.

“It's a surprise!” She sheepishly brought her hands up in an open palm motion while locking the window back up. “We need to wait for Garp.”

“Wait for who?” Garp commented as he opened the door behind them causing the two girls to jump in shock at the sudden appearance, meanwhile Luffy started laughing as he pointed out a spot of brown paint on Garp’s pants.

“Gramps! You got poop on you!”

“I do not!” Garp screamed as he brought his fist down onto Luffy's head. Garp huffed as he turned away from the pouting Luffy who was rolling on the floor now to open the door for the girls to walk out of. 

Immediately Atlantis’ attention was drawn to the new building on the other side of Party Bar, it was a little ways away and seemed to be a house, but it most certainly was not here yesterday. 

Garp proudly walked them straight to the door before opening it and gesturing for the girls to enter first. Walking in Atlantis found a large open area with a living room and a connected kitchen. Walking forward she could see an open doorway leading to a laundry area that was screened in. The back of the wall had two doors and a ladder. Looking in the doors she found a large bedroom and a large fully equipped bathroom.

Shaking her head, she then made her way to the ladder and climbed up to find a cozy area of cushions that looked out a window and two doors on opposite sides. Looking in each she found fully stocked bedrooms, one purple and one yellow that seemed fit for a kid, for her and Luffy.

Climbing down the stairs she spotted Luffy standing by the door looking around disinterested as he scuffed his foot against the floor, tracing circles into the hardwood floor. Noticing Atlantis climbing down he brightened up and made his way to the bottom of the ladder to wait for her.

“Finished?”

“Yeah-” Atlantis was barely able to finish before Luffy grabbed a hold of her and attempted to haul her out the building entirely.

She grabbed onto the doorway to stop him from pulling her entirely to yell out her thanks to Garp before Luffy couldn't wait any longer and continued to pull her behind him. “Luffy wait! I need shoes.”

Atlantis crashed straight into the back of Luffy as he turned to stare at her bare feet before frowning, he let go of her hand and ran into Party Bar. After a minute he came running back out with a pair of his shoes that he dropped in front of her with a grin, “Shoes.”

Grinning Atlantis shoved her feet into the shoes before grabbing Luffy’s hand as they both set off. Laughing she pushed her hair from her face as she turned her gaze around the village, “Where are we going?”

“To get married!” Luffy cheered as he stopped short in front of Mayor Woop Slap who stared at them startled while Luffy cheered. “Mayor! Make us married!”

“I. Uh ok.” He nodded his head before smiling at them. “Done.” He spoke with a laugh as he made a note in his notepad.

“Mayor!” Makino called out as she rushed towards them. “You can't be serious!”

“Well, I figure it's for the best anyway. This way we have more control about Atlantis being here. She is a legal resident now.”

“But marriage at their age?!”

“They can always annul it when they grow up.” The man spoke with a shrug as he turned away and started making his way towards his office.

“Yay!” Luffy cheered as he raised their hands in the air while Atlantis placed a hand on her forehead. She just married Monkey D. Luffy, who is currently only four years old. “Come on let's go play!”

“Okay,” Atlantis could just annul it later. Yeah, she didn't have to worry about it anyway, it's not like anyone will ever know even if they stay married. Also being the granddaughter of Monkey D. Garp may prove useful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah young love, jk. Okay so I have not yet decided who Atlantis will end up with, so just because she is now married to Luffy doesn't mean she is off the market.
> 
> Technically, they are engaged with each other, but the adults don't say that because Luffy is four and probably wouldn't understand. Also, there is an important reason why the adults are allowing this other than its Garp.


	6. The Baby Adventures

“Bye, Gramps!” Luffy called out as he waved from the pier right in front of Garp who simply looked down at him before turning to Atlantis.

“Goodbye, my precious granddaughter! I’ll be back soon!” He exclaimed as he crouched to grab Atlantis into a hug causing her to shriek.

“Group hug!” Luffy laughed as he jumped on top of the both of them, causing Garp to grumble and shrug Luffy off. Immediately Luffy turned his frown to Garp before he began pulling his hair, “Let go of my wife, Gramps!”

  
“Okay okay,” Garp spoke as he pulled away from them both and stared Luffy down. “I will be back for you two little future marines.” 

They both waved the man goodbye as he boarded while simultaneously making scrunched faces in response to his words. ‘Future Marines? As is plural, I understand Luffy, but now me too?’

Garp continued to wave the entire time the marine ship began setting sail, Luffy and Atlantis simply stood side by side watching the ship sail into the distance. Once out of sight Luffy scrunched his eyes while leaning forward, “Is he really gone this time?”

“Yeah? I think so.” Atlantis side-eyed the boy with a confused expression before the boy shot up towards the docked ships.

“Fishy!” Luffy jumped towards one of the fishermen that were setting some supplies down in his boat. 

The man turned to glance at them with a smile as he jumped into his boat and leaned stood still to watch them, “Oh! Is this the famous Mrs.Monkey?”

“This is Coco, we got married yesterday!” Luffy proudly nodded his head and pulled Atlantis to stand beside them as she took in the boat.

“My name is Atlantis.”

“Coco.”

With a sigh Atlantis turned to stare at the man who looked on them with mirth shining brightly in his eyes and a smile forcing itself across his face, “Is that so? You already act like a married couple even though you are only engaged.”

“Huh?!” Luffy shouted as he stared the man down. “What do you mean by engaged? We got married yesterday.”

“Luffy,” the man shook his head while holding up his hand to stop the boy from pouncing on him. “You have to be older to marry someone, but you can be engaged. One day in the future you can have a big feast to celebrate being married, but for now, it's only on paper.”

“Oh,” Luffy waved the man away with a laugh as he grabbed Altantis’ hand to hold up in the air. “I don’t need no stupid piece of paper.”

The man sighed as he bent down before lifting a fishing pole that seemed broken in multiple spots with tape holding it together. “Are you fishing today?”

“Um,” Luffy glanced around to stare at the water and then turned his attention back to Atlantis who tilted her head in wait to see Luffy’s choice. “Nah, I wanna play with Coco.”

Then Luffy suddenly took off pulling Atlantis behind him by the hand towards the beachside attached to the docks. Coco almost trips in surprise from the sudden movement before catching her feet under herself and propelling herself forward. “Ah! Luffy, wait a second.”

“See ya Luffy. It was to meet you, Atlantis.” A voice yelled after the two children. Atlantis wanted to turn back to shout out towards the kind man but was unable to catch her breath nor turn her attention elsewhere in fear of falling so she simply waved a hand over her shoulder.

Abruptly, Luffy stopped on the beach and dropped to the sand to roll around on the ground while giggling. 

“What are you doing,” Atlantis released a giggle as she looked down at the boy.

“I wanna sleep with the fishes.” 

Atlantis shook her head fondly at the childish little boy and his insane ideas before turning her attention to the beach around them, stumbling forward she bent down to pick up a broken seashell with wide eyes. Sitting forward she began she dig around in the sand searching for more of the shells when a small opening caught her eye.

“Luffy, do you see that cave?”

Immediately Luffy jumped up to see a hole in a part of the hill that rose way above the water, with eyes filled with wonder he shot up and forward to stare at it beside her.

“Woah! That’s so cool, Coco. How do we get over there though?” Luffy scratched the back of his head in thought as Atlantis looked around the cave.

“There,” She pointed out a small trail that led to the mouth of the cave. 

With glee, Luffy sprinted off towards the trail with Altantis following after with her hands cupped over her collection of seashells. Once they reached the ledge they found it wide enough for the both of them side by side, but just in case they walked behind each other with Luffy going first.

Once in the cave, they found a narrow entrance the size of a door, a One Piece door around ten feet tall not her type of normal door, that led into a wider area of the cave. It looked very beautiful inside, and Altantis had the suspicion that this had once been a home or treehouse of sorts due to the window like rocks that allowed someone to see out covered in vines to hide it from view. Atlantis moved the vines out of the way to look down upon the docks in surprise, it was a perfect view.

“Coco!” Luffy called as he ran around the room, “it has more rooms.”

“More?” Atlantis called surprised before taking in the sight of more vines obscuring door-sized areas. “Woah.”

Moving together they found multiple rooms that must be someone’s home once before, but the layers of dust and overgrown vines suggested that whoever had made this place hadn’t been here in years. It must have taken a long time, especially to hollow the cave out and make chairs, tables, and other objects that were essentially a piece of the cave. The other floors must have been insane to create, the one underneath the first floor would have been much easier even though it is just one room it was still cool, but the stairs leading up to another area with a high ceiling and many appliances. The upstairs was essentially a home on its own and the two floors below it seemed to just be large areas for more room.

It was amazing. 

“This can be our super-secret house,” Luffy commented as he nodded his head at the entrance. “It will be our, and no one else’s.”

“Okay,” Atlantis wiped the smile off her face at the serious face that had taken over Luffy’s face to match his. “Ours.”


	7. The Road Home

“Be careful!” Makino called out to the two kids as they rushed out the door the moment they had finished breakfast.

Atlantis and Luffy charged past the townspeople without sparing them a glance as they headed for their secret base, dodging underfoot as people shouted out for them to stop running. Once they reached the beach Atlantis stopped causing Luffy to barrel into her, sending the both of them rolling into the sand.

“Coco?” Luffy called as he pulled himself up to look at the girl with his head tilted to the side, “Is something wrong?”

“Sorry,” Atlantis murmured as she rubbed the back of her head where Luffy had slammed into her. “I just noticed the path is easy to see from here.

“Oh no!” Luffy exclaimed as he stood up to stare at the entrance to the cave and the path leading to it. “It isn’t so super-secret right now.”

Luffy dropped to the sandy beach with a pout as he turned to stare down the sea as if the sea was at fault for the not so secret entrance.

Atlantis continued staring at the secret entrance and the not so secret path before eyeing the forage growing around them. With a smirk, she turned to toe at Luffy’s lifeless body, “Then let’s make it a secret.”

Luffy turned to her with wide wondering eyes as he shot up from his position on the beach to stand before her, “We can make it a secret path?! That’s so cool!”

“Okay! Then just as I say,” Atlantis called out as she bolted for the small thin forest that the sandy beach led up to, Luffy followed on her heels as they made their way through the forage of plants. They pulled some out at their roots and quickly moved them to the base of the entrance. Then they worked on eliminating the sand from the path that led up to the entrance so it would blend in better. 

Finally, Atlantis removed the ends of the too long vines in the super-secret base, wow that's a mouthful, and rooted them in the cracks of the path to make the rock ledge appear more natural.

Standing back they looked on to the rock ledge path that now blended in with the rest of the rock and no longer appeared as if it was even there. With a proud smirk, Atlantis crossed her arms as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. 

“That is so cool Coco!” Luffy shouted as he danced around her, stopping briefly to try and see if he could find the path before continuing to dance around her as he couldn’t pick it out from the rest of the rock. 

“Alright! Let’s head up to the hideout.”

“Whoop!” Luffy called as he raced forward to the bright red roses they planted at the base of the path so Luffy would be able to find it easily. They both raced up to the entrance of the super-secret base before spreading out to start looking once more.

“Okay. The first order of business.” Atlantis called as they seated themselves at the stone table. “We should probably clean the place first and then decide what we use the super-secret base for.”

“No, a name first.” Luffy shook his head violently before standing up onto the table, “Everything else afterward!”

“Alright!” Atlantis stopped as she stared Luffy down. “What do -”

“What do you want to name it?” Luffy interrupted to stare back at her. “You pick.”

“Um, the hideout?”

“No.” Luffy denied as he sat cross-legged on the table in thought.

“Hmm, maybe we can ask Makino for her advice over lunch?” Atlantis offered which Luffy declined. 

“It has to be us, but lunch sounds correct.”

“Then let’s go eat lunch first!” Atlantis called as she pulled Luffy from the cave. At this point, the town square was full so Luffy and she were almost separated in the crowd but luckily they held onto each other tightly as they raced through. 

Reaching the other side Atlantis stopped for breath when Makino called out to them, “Lunch is ready!”

Excitedly, they both sat down to dig in when Luffy stopped to stare at the meat in his hand, “Meat island.”

“Huh?” Atlantis turned to him completely baffled by his expression of awe.

“Meat! Uh-,” Luffy stopped to glance at Makino before whispering closer to Atlantis. “The super-secret base’s name. Meat Island.”

Atlantis giggled before nodding her head, “Oddly enough, it sounds like the perfect name for our super-secret base.”

The two began to giggle before they were interrupted by a knock on the door, to which both of them turned to stare at Makino as she answers the door. “You have a package!”

“A PRESENT!” Luffy screamed as he launched himself at the large bag that cushioned his fall when it tipped over. Immediately, the drawstrings loosened as clothes began to pour out causing both of them to stare at them confused. Getting closer, Atlantis could see that each item was labeled with one of their names on it, indicating ownership.

“Clothes?” Atlantis asked as she turned to look at the smiling Makino.

“A gift from Garp.”

“Coco! Look at this thingy!” Luffy shouted drawing both of their attention back to a shirt with the bottom half made up of a stringed design. “Why does it look so torn up?”

“It’s a design.” Makino offered with puckered lips, “I had assumed Garp would send more… girls like things rather than these designs.”

“Look I found a dress!” Luffy shouted out as he began twirling a sunflower dress above his head, which Makino sighed in relief upon seeing a ‘girly’ design.

On the other hand, Atlantis bolted for the boy who laughed as he ran after her, “Damn it Luffy! Stop it, that one is for me.”

“What yours is mine!” Luffy called back as he started towards town.

“Where did you even learn those vows!?”


	8. Forever Then

Luffy rolled around on the floor of the house as Atlantis sat in front of the bag of clothes alongside Makino in order to separate the clothes into piles.

Every now and then Atlantis would swing around to try and catch Luffy off guard to grab the pretty sunflower dress he had clutched in his hands, every time he would turn that smirk towards him while rolling over on his stomach to hide the item underneath him.

This continued long past the day until Makino left to open the bar leaving the two to finish sorting the clothes, well leaving Atlantis to sort the clothes.

With a sigh, she turned away from Luffy giving up on the dress entirely, if he liked it so much then he could just keep it. Pulling the clothes out to sort she didn’t notice Luffy moving until he dropped the dress in front of her, “Sorry.”

Turning her eyes back to him confused she grabbed the hem of the dress confused, “It’s okay Luffy. I don't really mind.”

“But you're sad,” Luffy wouldn’t look her in the eyes as he glanced up at her from under his eyes. 

“It’s not your fault.” Atlantis let out a small laugh as she reached her hand out for Luffy to hold, who immediately took hold of her hand and sat down beside her.

Looking into her eyes with confused eyes, Luffy refused to waive his stare. “Then why?”

“I-,” Atlantis moved her eyes back to the clothes with a smile. “I’ve never had such nice clothes.”

“Why not?” Luffy turned to stare at the clothes confused, he probably didn’t understand why clothes were making her sad, but this would be something he would need to learn. 

“My parents… they didn’t want a kid.” She said with a shrug as she pulled the dress towards her with her other hand. “They could have given me away but they didn’t. They kept me, but they made sure I knew I wasn’t wanted.”

“I don’t like them.” 

“Yeah, me either.” Atlantis huffed out a chuckle as the feeling of a cold floor and winter biting into her skin, the pain of the cold could never compare to the feeling of emptiness in her stomach and her heart. Ever since she had come to live with Luffy, since she had died she hadn’t felt that emptiness. “I remember we lived somewhere cold. It was always so cold and I was always hungry. But I pulled myself out of there. I went to college and I made a living for myself. I- I wish I could say I regret leaving behind the people who were in my life, but I don’t. Not really. I love them and I care about them, but I just didn’t fit anywhere.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“I never want to go back.”

“Then don’t,” Luffy’s grip tightened, pulling her attention back to him. He looked her in the eyes and held steady as the seriousness that overtook him left her breathless. He looked like the Luffy she did know, the one from the pages, the look on his face was one she was familiar with. “Stay with me.”

“I- okay,” Atlantis nodded her head quickly as tears built up in her eyes and she reached out to pull Luffy into a hug. “I never want to leave. I want to stay here. With you, for as long as I can.”

“Forever then.” Luffy simply hummed as he grabbed her back just as tightly before he cautiously pulled back, “Does this mean you want to sleep with me again?”

Atlantis let out a laugh at Luffy’s shy hopeful look as he eagerly awaited her answer, “How about sometimes okay?”

“Okay!” Luffy shouted as he jumped up in glee. “We can sleep in the window lookout!”

“You mean the window seat? Okay, I guess.” Laughs released as Luffy started dancing around and playing in his pile of clothes, falling backward making them pop up from behind him. Then a loud grumble filled the room around them as they both stared at each other.

“Hehehe. Let’s go eat!” Luffy cheered as he grabbed Atlantis’ hand and pulled her towards the door where they then turned towards Parts Bar, rushing in to take their resident seats at the bar cheering all the while, “FOOD!”

“Alright, give me a minute.” Makino giggled as she turned towards the back to grab their prepared food. “Here you guys go.”

“Woah,” Mayor Woop slap commented from the side as he looked onto the two. “Her appetite sure grew.”

“Did you say something, Mayor?” Makino asked as she turned to the old man who simply turned away with a grunt to nurse his drink.

“Nope,” he muttered as he moved away from the two sloppy enters with clear disgust resting on his place. “But I will be taking this food to go.”

“You might want to teach them kids some manners,” a bar patron called out with a laugh, who caused Luffy to turn around with his spoon to wave threateningly. 

“I don't know what that is, but why don't you go get it!”


	9. Plan Coconut

“Hey, Coco?”

“Yeah Luffy,” Atlantis asked as she allowed her head to roll to the side to stare at the boy napping beside her on the window seat. 

“What do coconuts look like?”

“They’re brown and fuzzy?” Atlantis scratched her chin as Luffy furrowed his eyebrows together in thought.

“I think we have some of those here,” Luffy mumbled as he turned to roll over on the side of the window seat.

“Really?” Atlantis asked, surprised as Luffy hesitantly nodded his head. 

“Yeah, big trees.” Luffy nodded as he jumped, “Come on! Let’s go find some to eat!”

“Hmm, okay!” Together, the two immediately set out into the town to search for the rumored coconut trees that Luffy had spoken of.

“Race you to the grove,” Atlantis yelled at Luffy as they ran to a specific area that Luffy remembered the brown fuzzy coconuts being, a grove at the edge of the forest.

“Luffy!?” One of the townspeople ran into him causing them to trip as Atlantis laughed and kept running to the grove. “You okay kid?”

“Yeah!” Luffy smiled as he jumped back up before the man stopped him.

“What are you two doing?”

“Looking for coconuts.”

“Luffy,” The man called out to him while he knelt in front of him. “You know our island doesn't have any coconuts right?”

“Yeah.” Luffy nodded when suddenly a serious expression crossed his face, “But you can't tell Coco that because she's happy right now.”

“Oh,” The man commented as Luffy shot off towards Atlantis without a second thought laughing all the way. “He's surprisingly insightful.”

“Is it here?” Atlantis asked as she looked up at the grove with large palm-like trees in front of her. It could be likely, but…

“Yep!” Luffy commented as he took a leaping jump at the tree grabbing it around its trunk to prevent him from sliding down.

“Luffy!” Atlantis laughed as she stared wide-eyed at the now climbing Luffy, “What are you doing?”

Luffy turned to look down on her from his advantage on the tree with a confused face, “Trying to see if there are coconuts on top?”

“Why do you sound so unsure?”

“Why aren't you climbing a tree?”

Atlantis shook her head with a laugh building up in her throat when she heard it, quiet footsteps coming somewhere deeper in the forest. With a forced grin, she moved to the tree next to Luffy and immediately began to climb it. She didn't say a word and for some reason Luffy was quiet as he continued to climb to the top of the tree, once Atlantis reached a good height she stopped to listen once more for the animal that had been approaching them.

Only to hear a muttered conversation and the top of a man’s head peeking out of the bushes looking around confused.

Holding in a gasp at the appearance of the unknown person she cast her eyes up to Luffy who still didn't notice and then back to the man.

As Atlantis moved to duck behind the leaves of the tree in case the man looked up and to get a better view of the forest floor trying to see whoever the man must have been talking to when a flip flop dropped onto the man’s head at a fast pace, which she could only stare at in shock while Luffy called out from the top of the tree. “Yo! Who the hell are you?”

How Luffy had even hit the man with the flip flop when there were so many branches and leaves in the way was a miracle, which Atlantis assumed would come in common later on, but it was still weird. The man on the other hand didn’t seem to care about the probability of being hit in the head with a flip flop and instead fell to the ground clutching his head while spewing a string of curse words.

“Oi, kids!” Another man called out as he jumped from the bushes and began looking around with his head thrown back to look into the top of the trees with his eyes scrunched. Two more men emerged from the forest to kneel by their friend and glare at the trees, as the fourth man tried to speak with them.

“Kids?” Luffy squawked as he glared down at the man from where he was paused on his pursuit up the tree. “Who the hell are you?!”

“I’m a friend of your grandfather’s. Come down here so we can see you.” The man gave a leery smile as he continued to search the trees.

While he was searching Atlantis turned to find Luffy’s questioning eyes already on her, to which she shook her head no while moving slowly up the tree so she could be even with Luffy’s height. “I don’t like this.”

“Okay,” Luffy muttered before pulling off his other flip flop and hurling straight at the man’s face who cried out in pain as he fell back onto the ground beside his companions all the while holding onto his bleeding nose, “You can’t tell me what to do! Why are you worried about what I’m doing?”

“Yeah! You need to be worried about picking out your casket.” Atlantis yelled out as Luffy started giggling at the angry groans from the ground.

“I said come down here you brats!”

“Just burn the trees down.” A fifth man spoke as he appeared from within the forest to stare down at the other men. “If they won’t cooperate then just force them to leave the trees by burning them down.”

“Luffy,” Atlantis called out as she turned to him with fear in her eyes as her heart began to speed up, all the while the smell of smoke and harsh laughter began to rise within reach of her senses.

Luffy simply pouted down at the ground with an angry expression, “They used my shoes to start that fire.”

“Luffy,” Atlantis let out an exasperated laugh as Luffy turned a smile towards her before swinging to another tree in the grove. After securing his grip he motioned for her to reach for the tree next to hers as well.

Together they moved through the trees calmly until they reached a part of the grove facing the town and at a distance away from the five men staring up at the trees with expectant expressions. Quietly they landed on the forest ground before taking off down the hill towards the town as fast as they possibly could.

Yells shouted from behind them as the men started to gain on them to which Atlantis brought her hand up to grip the bow she kept for good luck only to feel it shift in her grip. Pulling her hand back she watched as a blade began to form from the dangling chains until a sword appeared. Turning abruptly she pushed Luffy forwards, “Go get help! I’ll hold them off.”

Luffy shot a concerned glance behind her before stopping in his tracks with a shake of his head, “I'm not leaving you.”

Moving back with a huff she pulled the black katana from its sheath and watched as a bolt of purple lightning flashed down the blade before glowing slightly.

Turning the blade just in time she held it out threateningly at the men who all rushed to a stop at the sight of the weapon. They had confused faces that seemed stuck between fear of the weapon and humor at the small children glaring at them.

The fifth man appeared from behind the others with a huff of amusement, “Now where did you get that? Not that it matters.”

A stare off occurred as no one moved an inch before a growl sounded as a fist struck the back of the supposed ring leader of the group’s head. The man fell to the ground with a thud as Monkey D. Garp turned his glare onto the other four men who immediately broke out into a sprint only to run into some of Garp’s subordinates.

Meanwhile, he turned back to the two kids to sweep them up in a hug to Atlantis’ protest of fear before noticing the katana was gone. She could only stare down at her hands as Garp brought them up on his shoulders to sit while he made the walk back to town.

A pair of linked rings now could be found on the index and thumb of her left hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so if you would prefer, I can make this a series and go ahead and start the 2nd work following the story in the future when the straw hats form?
> 
> Right now I have a linear style story that will follow a few important moments of her life, including meeting Shanks, Ace, Sabo, Smoker, and Mihawk. These characters will essentially have important roles in her story, but it may take a moment before the straw hats form since I have an outline and plan to have a total of 35 chapters based on the past.
> 
> It is up to the viewers what you would prefer, but if you are fine waiting a week or two for me to get through the backstory then I can just focus on the prequel. Otherwise, it may take longer for the prequel to finish since I would be working on both sides.
> 
> If you want I can also add a small prompt-based work that is centered around extra pieces that were requested or just NSFW moments that don't occur in the story. (and other things along those lines.)


	10. Operation Fishes

Atlantis released a sigh that shook her body as she stared down the grove that had burnt to the ground. Nothing from the trees in this grove remained, except for seeds that had been planted in their place to encourage more growth to occur.

“We didn't even get to find any coconuts,” She muttered as she turned to Luffy who was whistling while looking to the side on the grove away from her. “Luffy. What did you do?”

Luffy shook his head as he pursued his lips together before shrugging his shoulders, “There may have not been any coconuts here in the first place? If that was true would you be sad?”

Atlantis looked into Luffy's eyes before shaking her head fondly, “I kinda figured there wouldn't be any.”

“Coco,” Luffy called out as he grabbed her around the shoulders to hug her. The force causing them to tip over towards the ground, Atlantis closed her eyes with an acceptance before opening them in shock at the large hand that caught them from their descent.

“I thought I told you two to stay near the town,” Garp gruffed as he leaned them back up before sighing as they turned their pleading gazes onto his figure. “No. We don’t know if they are going to send any more people after Atlantis. You can wait a few more weeks until the engagement papers finish filing.”

“But I like playing… not in the town,” Luffy whined as he leaped around the area pulling on Garp’s pants from behind with a mischievous smile.

Garp reached around slapping him upside the head as he smiled down at Atlantis in understanding, “If your board you might be able to play on the docks.”

“Oh!” Luffy yelled out as he began running towards the docks, “Let's go fishing!”

“Fishing?” Garp commented as he shook his head while leaning down to grab a hold of Atlantis, who dodged his grasp running after Luffy while cheering. Garp looked on their running forms with horror, “No granddaughter of mine should have to fish for food.”

“No! Go away,” Luffy yelled as Garp took off after them, quickly catching up as they started weaving around the roads to avoid his reach. “We wanna go fishing.”

“No!”

“Wait!” Atlantis panted as she came to a complete stop allowing Garp to scoop her up. 

“Yes? What’s wrong my lovely granddaugh-.”

“Coco! You got caught!”

“I’m good Luffy!” Atlantis panted out before she turned to stare Garp down with her best puppy dog eyes she could muster up. “Do you know where the coconuts are?”

“Coconuts?” Garp asked as he tilted his head in confusion before a clarity lit up his eyes, “I actually do know a market that sells some.”

“How much are they?!” Luffy yelled out as he came running to stand at Garp’s feet looking up at him in excitement. “How much? How much?”

“They aren’t cheap that’s for sure,” Garp muttered before sighing. “I’ll make you a deal, I’ll pay half the beli amount.”

“Deal!” Luffy shouted out in excitement before stopping, “I don’t have any money though.”

“Then I guess you better get to work!” Garp released a full-body laugh as Atlantis slid down and grabbed Luffy’s hand to pull him towards the docks.

“You sell fish to Gyoru, right?” Atlantis commented over her shoulder waiting for Luffy’s nod of confirmation. “We can start there then. I have another idea that may just work out too.”

Reaching the pier they grabbed two of the fishing poles from a willing fisherman who looked at her in sympathy as they moved to the edge of the dock to cast out their lines. It was only as she heard the sound of the pole snapping in Luffy’s hands did she understand why they turned such stares on her. 

“... I thought you knew how to fish?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, then.” Atlantis released a huff as she cast her own line out under Luffy’s amazing eyes. “We don’t have another pole so why don’t you go gather from seashells, vines, and flat rocks. Maybe some mud in a pot or something if you can.”

“Okay!” With a shot, Luffy disappeared from her sight. 

Atlantis turned back to the calm waters with a sigh before turning her gaze to the rings on her hand. Since the moment the katana had appeared before she found that she could no longer summon it from the rings. It would take some figuring out but there may be more to these rings than even she realized, especially since it wasn’t simple shapeshifting but perhaps a second form of the weapon.

Atlantis startled as she felt a shadow approach her before calming as Garp seated himself on the pier next to her with his own fishing pole. “I’m sorry.”

Surprised, Atlantis turned searching eyes onto the man who simply pulled back his arm to cast his own line out with a sigh. Confused she shook her head while turning back to her fishing line, “I can’t imagine what for. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I knew that someone would come for you,” Garp calmly muttered as the grip on his fishing pole tightened. “I pretended to leave to draw them out, but I thought it was safe. They hadn’t come so I thought the engagement forms had reached the ears of the people who would take advantage of a young child without parents. Apparently, they were just biding their time.”

“Oh.” Atlantis pulled in her reel as she thought over his words before setting the first fish she caught into the net beside her. “You're a good grandma. Better than mine.”

“Aw kid,” Garp sniffled as he too reeled a fish in and placed it into the net. “You gonna make this old man cry.”

Atlantis let out a small laugh before she turned a joking smile onto Garp, “We don't need to worry about the past. Well,” Atlantis hummed in thought as she considered a memory from the first time she arrived on this island. “Maybe we should be worried about how Luffy caught those fish if he doesn't know how to use a fishing pole.”

“...What?”

“Yeah, apparently.” Atlantis nodded as she turned away with Garp’s surprised face that quickly shifted into fond proudness. “That boy.”

“And you just made me engaged to him.” 

Atlantis released a resigned sigh as Garp fell into the water from his laughing all the while shaking her head, Monkey D.'s.


	11. Coconut Continuation

Atlantis let out a small hum as she viewed the items Luffy had savaged together while herself and Garp fished at the pier. Luffy had brought all the items he had found into Meat Island, before coming back to her when he got bored.

Atlantis had laughed at the imagine Luffy had imprinted into her brain, the boy was covered head to toe with mud and had twigs sticking out of his hair as he smiled proudly at her. She gifted the boy her fishing pole before running off from the scene to begin searching for other items she could find.    
  


The beach where she typically would go to find seashells was full of holes in the sand and seemed bare. Shaking her head in amazement she watched as the tide began to rise and cover the holes Luffy had dug.

Atlantis had given up searching for anything on her own and made her way back to their secret hideout where she was now looking at the things Luffy had found.

All in all, it was a pretty good haul. There happened to even be a wallet in the stash with a few berries in it.

Sorting the items, Atlantis began to create small crafts with the items. Cute little things that children would typically make. The small crafts didn't take long to make, but because of the quantity Atlantis wanted to make, it took a few hours to finish building things. Once finished Atlantis packed all the items away in a bag Luffy had brought and sat it by the door.

The remaining items that haven’t been used were stored in the cupboards for now while Atlantis swung the bag over her shoulder and made her way to the beach. She stopped briefly once there to wash her hands in the water, but abruptly she stopped to stare at her reflection.

Her hair was white. She hadn't noticed it until now, for some reason it had alluded her senses but now staring at her reflection it was blatantly obvious. Her hair was white, very pretty. Pulling back she pulled her hair out of the ponytail it had been in to bring it in front of her to stare at.

All the while she made her way to Garp and Luffy, but because she wasn’t paying attention she tripped over her broken fishing pole.

“Shishishi,” Luffy laughed as he pointed towards her stunned figure while he himself was dripping with water. Garp next to him simply looked exasperatedly tired.

“Luffy,” Atlantis called out as she sat down to stare at him in bewilderment. “Why are you covered in water?”

“I was fishing,” Luffy commented as he turned around to stare down at the water under the pier. 

“I don’t understand how-.” Atlantis rolled her eyes before leaping up as Luffy shot his hands into the water below the pier. With a shout, she watched in horror as Luffy pulled a fish from the water with his bare hands while laughing. “Luffy! What the hell!”

“That’s what I said,” Garp muttered with a sigh, holding a hand to his face before standing up to make his way towards the forest. “Anyways, I have somewhere to be. I’ll be back soon.”

They both watched the man walk away before Atlantis remembered her bag and called out for the man while running after him. Garp stopped as he curiously tilted his head to stare at her as she handed him the bag. “Will you sell these for us? We made them ourselves.”

“Hmm,” Garp commented as he opened the bag before he exclaimed in excitement. “My granddaughter is so talented. I’ll buy them all!”

“Or.” Atlantis waved frantically as the old guy started celebrating. “You could just bring us some coconuts.”

“Deal,” Garp huffed as he reached down to pet the top of Atlantis’ head before he made his way into the forest.

She watched him for a second before turning back to find Luffy once more bent over the side of the pier. “Luffy!”

“Ah, Coco!” Luffy screamed in shock as he fell forward off the dock, but luckily Atlantis was close enough to catch him at the top of the water and bring him back onto the pier.

“How about I just teach you how to use the fishing pole?”

“Okay!”

_______

A few days had passed since Garp and Atlantis struck their deal and a delivery ship finally arrived. Garp had sent a letter apologizing for not being able to be there but to instruct the deliveries as needed.

Confused they both turned to the marine who simply gestured to the large coconut trees on board the ship, with her jaw dropped in shock she could only stare at the trees. “Garp... is insane.”

“Shishishi. That's gramps for you,” Luffy muttered before turning to the guy. “I will show you where we want them.”

“Where?” Atlantis asked with a confused head tilt, “Shouldn't we let them decide?”

“No. We should put it next to Meat Island.”

“Huh. That's actually a smart idea.” Atlantis muttered as she allowed Luffy to boss around the poor marines that were simply following Garp’s orders.

That night they finally ate Coconut Meat - which Luffy claimed to now be his favorite type of food since it made both of them happy. The coconuts were also a surprising hit with Luffy.

He had stared down at the cracked coconut before turning to stare at Atlantis’ hair. “Coco is the inside of the coconut.”

“... What?”


	12. Shanks the Red-Haired Devil

Atlantis peered out of her workshop doorway to focus on the frozen figure of Luffy sitting on the window sill, peering out with a determined expression drawn on his face. Whatever had called for his attention had held it longer than most things, in fact, when Atlantis had called out to him he hadn’t responded prompting her to check on him. “Luff?”

“Hm,” Luffy’s response was distracted, he titled his head slightly towards Atlantis but never moved his eyes away from the item drawing his attention.

With a sigh, Atlantis made her way to stand beside him before stopping short as she gazed out at the docks, at the pirate ship that had landed there. The Jolly Roger was familiar, but Atlantis simply couldn’t place. Not until her eyes were drawn to the distractingly bright red hair of one of the pirates. The Red-Haired Pirates. An emperor of the sea. Shanks.

She had forgotten they were going to one day encounter Luffy, two years had passed and it had gotten relatively peaceful. Now, this would bring trouble.

“Pirates,” Atlantis muttered as she stared at them as the crew was dismissed by their captain and they began to cautiously venture towards the town.

“Yeah,” Luffy muttered while watching them move before standing abruptly with a grin. “What do you think they are like?”

Atlantis smiled at the ecstatic expression on Luffy’s face before smiling back fondly. “I don’t know, why don't we find out?”

With wide grins the two made for the town, making sure to circle the town instead of entering from the same entrance the pirates had, they ducked into an alleyway as Atlantis led them and stopped at the corner to stare out at the pirates roaming the market.

While most of the pirates were the spitting image of what a pirate should be, some stood out more than others. Such as their leader, with hair like that he couldn’t blend in and the scars on his face made him even more obvious. He didn’t seem to mind the attention the town folks gave him, Atlantis could however see him shift uncomfortably as the citizens gave him a wide berth. 

Yasopp was also one that drew her attention. Unlike the others, he could've blended into the environment of the town. That is if he wasn't an important character for her, this man was the father of Usopp. He was important and therefore he couldn't blend in even though it would've been easy to pass him over.

Another member that drew their attention was Lucky Roux, who Luffy was gaping at while tapping her arm, “Look at him eat. He's gonna eat it all.”

“Jealous?” Atlantis snickered as she turned her gaze to the munching Lucky Roux who was, as Luffy made clear, eating all the food in his reach.

“Why would I be jealous?” Luffy asked as he tilted his head and tore his attention from the pirates to stare at her confused. “I can eat more than that. I’m just hungry now.”

And while Shanks was handsome it was Benn Beckman, the first mate that drew Atlantis’ attention. He was far more handsome than the franchise gave him credit for or maybe it was seeing him in person that changed her perspective, but as he smiled at a little old lady selling fruits Altantis could feel her heart skip a beat. 

Benn Beckman may become a problem.

Shaking her head she pulled away from the corner and gestured for Luffy to follow her, “Let’s go catch some lunch.”

Luffy cheered as he sprinted off around the buildings with Atlantis close on his heels, allowing herself to be happy and ignore the incoming problems she laughed as they made it to the pier. Once there they set out gathering the necessary supplies before finding a quiet end of the pier far away from the pirate’s ship to set up their fishing poles. While Luffy tossed his line out, Atlantis worked on setting up a box to store their catches in before they cooked them and adding a small fire to the side so they could easily move on to the next steps.

Satisfied that the pier wouldn’t burn down, she sat beside Luffy to cast out her own reel. All the while they fished Luffy would talk about the shapes he could see in the clouds and the things he could see in the water, it was an attempt to hold his attention while they worked, and surprisingly it worked as long as someone conversed with him.

Unfortunately, today was a slow day it seemed and it took a lot longer than they expected to catch a good enough amount of fish. Even then, there wouldn’t be enough and they’d probably head out for dinner early as well. Sighing Atlantis began reeling in her pole and moving to set about preparing the fish they had already caught. Luffy grumbled but continued in a vain effort to catch any more fish while Atlantis began cooking them and setting them to the side on a prepared plate.

As the last fish was finished, Atlantis put out the fire and turned to help Luffy reel in his fishing pole to pack up. Only once they had finished packing everything up did they turn their attention back to the food only for Luffy to tilt his head confused and Atlantis to fall in shock.

Sitting in front of them, calmly munching on the last fish was Red Hair Shanks. Pirate Captain Shanks was eating their lunch. Their hard-earned food. It was all gone.

“Hey! Did you eat our food?” Luffy yelled as he threw his fists up with an outrageously cute pout settling on his face.

“Hmm. I guess I did,” Shanks said with a laugh as he eyed Luffy’s shaking fist.

Red Haired Shanks, pirate captain or not, was going to pay for this. 

“You asshole!” Atlantis shouted while jumping at him grabbing onto the stick she had used to push the fire around while cooking the fish to swing at Shanks. The man had the audacity to laugh at her reaction before shifting, dodging a punch aimed at him for Luffy.

“So cute!” Shanks squealed as he danced around the two, dodging their attacks before Atlantis had finally had enough, and stopped where she then grabbed ahold of the bucket that held the fish to toss the cold smelly water in Shank’s face.

Frozen in shock Shanks stared at her, therefore not seeing the punch aimed at his face by Luffy until it landed causing him to fall back in shock once more to stare at the two angry children.

He turned his attention towards the still steaming Luffy and the hardened expression of Atlantis, one that didn’t show the fear that had risen in her but simply anger. He then threw his head back in laughter before jumping to his feet and approaching the children.

It threw them off for a split second, but that was all Shanks needed to scoop them up into his arms and skipping away from the dock with the struggling kids in hand. 

Happily, he made his way to his ship where his crew had already returned to, to drop them onto the main deck in front of Benn Beckman. “Look what I found! Our newest crewmates!”

The crew stared in shock as Luffy rounded on the man to threateningly throw a fist up at him, “No way in hell! I don’t even know who you are!”

At his response, Shanks’ entire crew burst into laughter while pointing fingers at their pouting captain, meanwhile, Benn sighed as he brought a hand up to cradle his head.

So focused on the arguing Luffy and Shanks, none but Yasopp noticed the rapid breathing of the other child. Cautiously he approached to kneel in front of the child, a girl he could tell now that he was closer. Smiling, he tried to reassure her yet it only seemed to cause panic to rise further in the child.

Yasopp’s wide eyes and open palms were the last things Atlantis saw before she fainted in her panic.


	13. The Prison Break

Atlantis slowly opened her eyes to take in the shadows of the sun casting onto her face. She sighed as she sat up and promptly froze to find Luffy sitting in front of her face with worried eyes.

“Luffy?” The boy nodded as relief flooded his eyes while he sat back with a small smile. Cautiously, she sat back to gaze around the room they were in. The bed was comfortable, and when she shifted the bed remained in place without disturbing the rest of the large bed. 

The covers…. The covers were actually quite beautiful, they were a beige comforter with a gold lace trim and gold sparkles scattered throughout the comforter making it shine as the light reflected on it. The covers made her feel as if she was sleeping in a treasure chest, especially with the curtains drawn around the bed closing her and Luffy off from the rest of the world, or so it seemed. The curtains had a lace floral print scattered throughout them, giving the curtains the image as if petals were falling had been suspended in midair. 

As Atlantis reached out to touch the petals of the curtain, a hand grabbed a hold of it and pulled the curtain back to peer in causing Atlantis to lose her balance and fall forward. Her face crashed into a hard surface, cueing her to help while arms came up to grab onto her to prevent her from sliding off the bed and held her there for a second before gently settling her back down in the middle of the bed.

“Looks like you’re feeling better princess,” a warm voice released a chuckle as the curtains were pulled back and tied to a hook where Shank’s became available to her sight. 

He had a small grin on his face that seemed slightly forced, as he pulled a chair to the side of the bed to sit down in while he glanced back up at the two. 

They both simply stared at him, as he waited patiently with his smile dipping slightly as he sighed and leaned back into the chair with his hands folded in his lap, “I’m sorry princess.”

“Um,” Atlantis scooted back to lean against Luffy as Shanks turned his attention on her with an expression of sorrow on his face.

“Benn, he's my first mate. He told me that it was likely that the shock and fear of a stranger bringing you to a strange place probably caused you to collapse.” Shanks explained as he ran a hand through his hair before stopping to stare down at his hands. “I'm sorry. I didn’t think, I mean, I never intended for this to happen.”

“Ah, no.” Atlantis stuttered as she shook her head before stopping abruptly. It hadn’t been Shanks bringing them to the ship that caused her to react that way, it had been reality itself. With the arrival of the Red-Haired Pirates, so many events would be pushed into motion and it had overwhelmed her as memories had rushed back, but how could she explain that to Shanks? “It wasn’t really your fault. Um, I … just think too much?”

“It’s okay, princess.” Shanks shook his head with a laugh as his smile came back onto his face, “You don’t have to lie for my sake. I already know what I did wasn’t considerate and could be terrifying.”

“It’s okay,” Atlantis muttered while Shanks shook his head while standing up.

“Anyway, since you're awake I'll go get Benn so he can check you over to make sure your head is okay.” 

Shanks stood before abruptly turning to face them with a charming smile, “Oops. Almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Captain Shanks.” With a small wave, he turned and began to make his way to the door after replacing his chair at a desk in the room.

The two of them watched as Shanks left the room before turning to stare at each other, as Atlantis opened her mouth a gurgle rebounded within the room as Luffy made a pout and reached for his stomach, “I'm hungry. Can we go see Makino?”

“Yeah,” Atlantis muttered as she slowly stood up to gain her balance before making her way to the door right behind Luffy who happily marched forward.

As they entered a corridor they both slowed slightly to avoid making too much noise as they passed by doors, they made sure not to draw attention to themselves in case the door was open before they reached the main deck.

There appeared to be a few members on board the deck, including Shanks and his first mate Benn who were conversing as they made their way towards the door. Dodging they both hid behind a barrel as they watched Shanks pass with a concerned frown on his face.

...Did Shanks feel so bad about what happened that he was distracted enough to not realize they had moved? Luffy had a good amount of presence at the moment so if he was aware he should've known they were on deck, yet he passed right by them without a pause. In fact, the entire crew must be worried or they were letting them escape?

Whatever, Atlantis shook her head as she pulled Luffy behind her to the edge of the boat next to the docks, seeing a line attached to the boat they both slowly climbed down before inching towards the dock. As their feet touched the pier a shout was heard from the ship as the crewmates sprung into action.

Panicking, they both sprinted away from the ship as Shanks called out for them in shock before moving to jump the ship side when Yasopp’s voice cut through the shock, “Marines!”

Shanks paused glancing back and forth between the sea and the kids before signing as he called for all hands. Quickly, the Red Force drifted from the pier disappearing from sight just as a marine ship came into view. Breathless, they both watched as Garp jumped from the docks with a large grin as he called out to them, “Kids! You waited for me!”

“Gramps is magic,” Luffy muttered as the man dropped a large bag beside them while leaning down to grab a hold of both of them.

“You're gonna make this old man die from happiness.” Garp squished them as he began opening the bag and pulling out a bag of clothes and … toys?

“You're not that old,” Atlantis muttered, causing Garp to cry out in happiness as he pulled her closer. 

“You're my favorite! So much in fact that I brought presents!” The second bag held all types of food including-

“Meat!” Luffy exclaimed in excitement as he jumped forward towards the bag as his stomach let out another rumble.

“Brat! Don't you dare eat all of that!”


	14. The Anchor

Shanks grinned as the ship finally docked once more in Foosha Village. Ever since he had first come here many weeks ago and was forced to leave early, his attention had been drawn to it. More so to the two children that had not only shocked him but left him feeling something he hadn't felt in years. Guilty.

Benn had grown tired of his moping and to an extent annoyed at the jaunts from the crew for making a young child afraid of him. It was a first for him, most children liked him. He may seem imposing to adults, but children liked him - even if he didn’t like the children. 

Dismissing his crew he grabbed the present he had brought for the kids and jumped onto the pier. He knew they would like the present after all the boy couldn't stop talking about wanting to go eat meat whenever they tried talking to him. It was a safe bet that he'd appreciate a present that was meat, at least Shanks was hoping that to be true.

The girl on the other hand, well he didn't expect her to particularly care about the meat. It wouldn't serve as an apology present, no. If she wanted an apology present it would need to be something better than meat. If she would even talk to him that is.

With a sigh Shanks searched with his Haki for the familiar presence of the two children, finding them he set off into town towards their presence. 

Luckily, the location of the two seemed to be a bar where the rest of his crew was slowly piling in. There was a young and pretty barmaid already taking orders and an old man, but other than those two the children were not within sight. 

That is until the boy jumped up onto the table to point his finger at Shanks, “You!”

“Yep. It's me.” Shanks chuckled as he brought the bag up and set it onto the bar, “I brought a present.”

“Meat?”

“Yep.”

“Meat!” The kid screamed as he jumped for the bag knocking both himself and the bag down onto the other side of the counter to the shock of the pirates, who could only watch as they plummeted. 

“Luffy, be careful.” The barmaid sweetly called out to him as she peeked around the bar to peer down at him. “And don't forget to share.”

Shanks laughed as he sat down at the bar and searched for the girl’s presence, surprisingly finding her sitting under the bar beside Luffy munching on small pieces Luffy was handing to her. He still hadn’t seen her physically but Luffy soon finished his portion of the meat and jumped up to run around the bar and pull himself into the seat beside Shanks.

“Who are you?” Luffy asked as he kept his attention on the man with his head tilted to the side.

“...Shanks.”

“Are you a pirate?”

“A pirate Captain,” Shanks muttered with a sigh as he requested a drink from the barmaid before turning his back against the bar. “Where's the princess?”

“...Who?” Luffy asked as he scratched his head.

“The girl.” Shanks sighed as the barmaid laughed while placing his drink beside him.

“I think he is asking about Atlantis.” The barmaid whispered before moving behind the bar to start preparing some type of food.

“You aren't allowed to talk to Coco.” Luffy shook his head as he turned away from Shanks to look anywhere else.

“Oh is that so?” Shanks laughed as he downed his drink before nudging Benn sitting next to him, “Apparently I'm not allowed to see the princess.”

Benn pointed did not look down at the bar where Atlantis was sitting with her back turned to the pirates. She didn't seem fazed by the loud noises surrounding them. Actually, it didn't even appear that she was listening at all.

“Do you at least know where she is?”

“No.” Luffy turned his face away while whistling a tune with sweat forming on his brow.

“Ah, that's too bad.” Shanks shook his head with a smile as he stood up, paid for his drink, and made his way from the bar. “Maybe next time.”

As Shanks made his way from the bar and towards the door, his crew began finishing up as well causing Luffy to sputter as he chased after the man shocking the other pirates.

“Ah,” Shanks exclaimed as he silently cheered while Luffy chased him. “I don't have any more meat.”

“I don't want meat, I want to see your pirate ship!”

______

It had been a few weeks since the Red-Haired Pirates and Luffy had been swept away in their presence. He practically followed their captain, Shanks, everywhere he went. Luffy would also voice how he wanted to be a pirate as well and join Shanks crew all to become the freest person in the world. 

...It was cute. 

Now and then he would race back to the bar or Meat Island to search for Atlantis only to find her meditating and holding tightly onto her rings. He knew they were magic, they once made a sword appear, and on an even rarer case a larger different sword. It was super cool, but she was still working on how to make it work so she spent her time divided between meditation and playing with Luffy.

Luffy didn't mind since he now could play with Shanks, even if Shanks didn't want to play that much, Luffy knew how to get him to play games with him now.

Which lead to the following events. Shanks sure loved to tease Luffy and Luffy was never one to not rise to the bait. So when Atlantis found her stomach dropping suddenly and heard the soft alarmed cry from Makino she knew something had happened.

She just never expected to rush into the bar to find a teary eyes Luffy with Makino patching up a mark under his eye. A mark, one that would scar. Shocked Atlantis could only stare at Luffy who had yet to notice her entering who was trying to tell Makino he was okay.

“Princess?” Turning her head she came face to face with a kneeling Shanks who watched her with concerned eyes as he reached out to her cautiously, “Are you okay?”

“Coco?” Luffy called suddenly as he whipped his head around with more tears building up in his eyes.

“It's okay, Luffy.” Atlantis sputtered as she raced to pull him into her arms. Immediately he buried his head into her neck mumbling words only meant for her.

“It hurts.”

“It'll heal,” Atlantis murmured as she ran her hand through his hair. “I think it'll look cool.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Atlantis murmured as she waited for Luffy to calm down enough, while tears began to form in her own eyes as Luffy gripped her tightly. “Just promise to try to not hurt yourself like this again, okay?”

“Okay.”

“That's kinda cute though.” Yasopp gasped in shock as he sat down at one of the tables. “When they grow up they are going to be so cute together.”

Drying their tears they turned to stare at the man in question blankly as he smiled largely at them. Meanwhile, other members of the crew gave off a few chuckles before one in the back began to speak, “I doubt Captain’s princess would go for the kid.”

“Go for? Coco will go with me everywhere!” Luffy yelled at the upset while tightening his grip on Atlantis.

Shanks laughed as he picked up his forgotten glass while staring at them, “He means like getting married or dating.”

Luffy tilted his head in confusion while Atlantis sighed knowing already what his next words would be, “...But me and Coco are already married?”

The sound of a glass shattering on the floor was the only sound that could be heard from the pirates as they all simply stared at the two in shock before Benn shook his head with laughter turning to Makino, “Is that so?”

“Technically they are simply engaged.” Makino laughed along as she nodded her head causing Benn to have a shocked expression cross his face from the confirmation.

“I don't need no paper to have a wife!” Luffy yelled while shaking his fist before turning to stare at the still shocked Shanks, “What wrong with you?”

Suddenly the pirate crew lost it as they all began laughing and banging on the tables, “Captain!” “I can't believe this kid got a girl before the captain!”

Yasopp gasped as he placed a hand on Shanks’ shoulder, “To think the Captain’s been bested by a child.”

“No way,” Shanks stuttered as he finally snapped out of the shock he was in. “No. Princess. This kid?”

“What’s wrong with Luffy?” “What’s that suppose to mean you old geezer!”

“I’m right here,” Shanks said to himself while he pouted before yelling out to Makino. “Sorry I broke this glass. Let me clean it up.”

“He never answered our questions,” Atlantis murmured as they watched Shanks clean up the glass while Luffy puffed his chest. “Okay then...”


	15. The Beginning of The King

You’d think that the events of Luffy gaining his scar would cause Atlantis to be cautious of the incoming events, but sadly some things slipped right past Atlantis’ memories. 

“Excuse me!” A rough voice shouted out as the bar door flung open causing Atlantis to jolt in surprise from where she was meditating under the bar table. The Red-Haired Pirates all quietly stared at the door in silence as a man walked into view, “So this is what pirates look like, huh? This is the first time I’ve seen pirates. They look pretty dumb to me.”

Atlantis jolted in shock at the words before beginning to creep around the edge of the bar to peer out at the man only to be stopped by Benn Beckman dropping his hand around the bar and holding it out to stop her. Surprised she turned her stare up to the smoking man who had his eyes trained on the man.

“We are bandits. We’re not here to cause any trouble. We just want to buy 10 barrels of sake.” The man smiled at Makino as Atlantis scoffed at his words. Sure they weren’t here to cause trouble. Shaking her head she focused back on the conversation to find the man staring down at Shanks as he offered his the last bottle of sake.

Atlantis flinched and grabbed onto the back of Benn’s leg before the man even hit the bottle from Shanks’ hand. The sudden shattering of the glass was deafening in the quiet bar but the feel of Benn’s hand petting Atlantis’ hair caused her to turn her attention away from the bandits once more to focus on Benn. 

He had yet to glance in her direction, but his face had softened gently as he finally turned his head slightly to push her head back behind the bar so she couldn’t see the men anymore.

The man’s loud droning tried to call her attention but she could only focus on the crew members she could see, they were tense and quiet. Not a single one moved and their attention was all held on the bandits even if they weren’t looking at them. 

The shattering of more glasses interrupted her thoughts causing her to flinch back under the bar, but before she could move Yasopp grabbed onto her arm preventing her from running straight into the line of debris falling behind the bar. Gasping quietly in shock she turned in shock as the bandits finally left the bar.

Abruptly the crew members broke into laughter as they began making fun of their captain causing Luffy to erupt in anger, meanwhile Yasopp and Benn turned their attention towards her to kneel beside her. Benn began looking her over to ensure she hadn’t been cut while Yasopp helped Makino clean up the glass directly behind her.

“You alright angel?” Benn asked as he leaned over to put his cigarette out and lifted her from the ground to move her away from the glass entirely. Setting her down in his chair he calmly ran his hand over her head messing up her hair while smiling down at her, “Angel?”

“I’m okay,” Atlantis muttered as her cheeks brightened slightly from the pale color they had become as the bandit and Shanks had been conversing. She rubbed her hands over her hair to try and fix the messy tangles causing Benn to chuckle before the surprise shouts of the crew drew both of their attention to Luffy… whose arm had stretched beyond human standards. Luffy's Devil Fruit powers were unlocked. Luffy was truly on a path to change the world and to see it step for step was... mind-blowing.

She broke out in small fits of chuckles as Lucky Roux began interrogating Luffy on the devil fruit he had already eaten. She turned away from the scene as they all began panicking about the situation.

Finally, the yelling calmed down the crew all sat down in shock while Luffy stormed from the bar pouting at the multiple events that had just occurred as he headed towards the left of the bar, likely towards their home. Cautiously, Atlantis inched off of Benn’s seat to make her way to the still dripping Shanks with a towel in her hands.

Stopping beside the man she reached her hand out to tap his shoulder, causing him to lift his hat in surprise to stare at her before smiling brightly as he leaned forward to show that she had his attention, “Princess?”

“Are you okay?” Atlantis asked as she glanced away shyly while scruffing her foot asking the hardwood floor while Shanks reached out to hold his hand out to her. 

Hesitantly she placed her hand in his while he smiled down at her charmingly, “I am.”

Atlantis hesitantly smiled as she brought the towel up to thrust into Shanks face suddenly who only smiled as he stared at it before moving his cheek for her to be able to access his face better. Atlantis let out a small sigh of relief at the action before she began rubbing the sake from Shanks’ face and hair.

“I don’t understand,” Atlantis muttered as she reached for a glass of water from Makino to dab the towel in so she could get the sake that soaked into his hair out. “I understand why you didn’t do anything, but I don’t understand why you let him do that. You could have put him in his place without causing a scene, but you didn’t?”

Shanks smiled at her while he reached up to still her hand as he brought it to his chest leaning down to place a small his on her palm before grasping her hand with both hands, “I didn’t want to chance him doing something once we left. I couldn’t live with myself if I got you two hurt.”

Atlantis looked on as a heavy blush began to form on her cheeks as she turned to stare at the smiling Been who was looking down at her calmly, simply waiting for what she had to say. Tears began to well in her eyes as she reached forward to wrap Shanks in a hug causing him to laugh in joy as she tightened her grip, “Thank you!”

“Aye Captain!” His crew called out in joy as Shanks joyfully stood with her bundled in his arms as he swung her around carefully.

Benn Beckman may become the problem she thought he would, but Captain Shanks? He was already a problem.

With her heart racing she turned away from the men as she finished cleaning up the mess that was Shanks’ hair, he would still have to take a bath to get the smell out but for now, he would at least not be sticky or feel weird.

Signing she made her way out of the bar to make her way towards the house when she heard the door opening once more behind her, glancing behind her she came face to face with Benn Beckman who simply smiled down at her before lighting up a cigarette. “Let me walk you home.”

“Ah, okay,” She muttered with a blush as they slowly made their way to the building next door, though she doubted that Benn realized she lived so close until they arrived at the door but pushing open the door she stopped as she turned around to stare at the man, “would you like to come in?”

“You shouldn’t invite strange men into your home.” Benn sighed as he held the door open but didn’t make a move into the building. “Look. Angel. I’m sorry you had to be there for that and I hope you understand why we care so much. Pirates or not, we are still human.”

“I know that,” Atlantis said will a sigh. “But I also know the reputation the Red-Haired Pirates have already accumulated in the Grandline.”

“Yeah,” Benn sighed as he turned away from her letting go of the door, “Just take care okay? Goodnight angel.”

“Good night!” Atlantis called after him as she finally closed her door holding a hand to her chest in shock.

Benn Beckman had officially become a problem.

“What’s wrong with you? Does your chest hurt?” Surprised she turned around to find Luffy staring at her in confusion with his head tilted.

“Ah, it’s nothing!” Atlantis rushed away causing Luffy to chase after her with a shout.

“You're hiding something! Tell me!”

“No!”


	16. Till Death Do Us Part

Atlantis swore she could feel the exact moment her heart dropped out from under her. It hadn’t been long since the incident where Luffy gained his Devil Fruit powers, and he had taken to them quite well. He had taken to using them constantly, and Shanks had been relieved to see there wasn’t any lasting damage to the kids.

While Atlantis had been cautious knowing that Higuma was now an element she had to worry about, it had appeared for the time being things would be peaceful. That is until she heard Higuma’s smug voice as he threw open the doors of the bar aggressively. 

Almost immediately she froze in shock from where she was located in the back of the bar, taking inventory of the items Makino would need to replace. If Higuma was here now, then Luffy surely wouldn’t hold his tongue.

Glancing out into the open bar she found it littered with the bandits, there were so many of them. The only thing that relieved her chest was knowing that they would be okay, but knowing that Shanks was going to lose his arm and that Luffy was going to be faced with danger still caused a slip of fear to escape the tight grip she had on her emotions. 

“What did you say, kid?” Higuma asked as he narrowed his eyes on the defiant Luffy who Makino was staring at shocked. Before she could reach out for him Higuma himself grabbed ahold of Luffy to shake him in the air while Luffy waved his fist at the man.

Atlantis could feel her legs quaking as she stared at the scene before she pushed herself away from the doorway. She couldn't just sit and watch this. She certainly wouldn’t be able to intervene, that left only one option. Ensuring Shanks arrival. With shaking limbs she quietly opened the back door and made her way into the alleyway behind Party Bar. 

A ruckus could already be heard but she ignored it as she began jogging around the buildings. Never before had the distance between the bar and the docks seemed so far except for in this moment. Breathing sharply as her foot caught on something she tripped, falling to her knees to grip her ankle.

Looking down in shock she found that she had forgotten her shoes entirely, causing mud to have begun gathering up the hem of her new skirt, small scratched from pebbles and sticks also caused blood to begin building. Although the cuts weren’t bad her left ankle still hurt from the pain, it may be twisted from the fall.

With frustrated tears building up in her eyes she stood back up on her feet causing her left leg to buckle from the pain and her to cry out as the pain intensified. Grunting her teeth she moved faster towards the docks, ignoring the pain as she finally saw the Red-Haired Pirates docking at the docks with tense chuckles as they looked around the vacant pier.

“Shanks!” She cried out as she finally was in yelling distances causing the Red-Haired pirates to stop at her panicked tone. Shanks quickly jumped the side of the boat as he caught sight of her and rushed to her form as she fell forward into his welcoming embrace.

“Princess?” Shanks called out as she desperately tried to hold off her tears as she gripped the collar of his cloak.

“Luffy. Bandits.” Atlantis gasped out as she tried to let go of his cloak only to find she had lost control of the ability to release her hand’s grips, she was too afraid to let go, but she had to so Shanks could get to Luffy.

“Princess,” Shanks muttered into her hairline as he stood pulling her now shaking for into his arms tightly as he made his way towards the town with a fierce expression. “You’re alright. I’m here now.”

“Captain.” The sound of a member of Shanks crew caused him to glance back before nodding angrily as they all dispersed aside from a few who began to immediately speed walk towards the crowd in the town. 

The sound of the mayor begging had Atlantis gasping as Shanks gently sat her down behind Makino with a small wink.

“I was wondering why the bar was empty on such a fine day.” Shanks commented with a laugh as he made his way past Makino and the Mayor to address Higuma, “So it’s the mountain bandits again.”

“Luffy...” Shanks called out joyfully as he ignored the bandit’s words causing Atlantis to peek around towards the scene to find Luffy staring at Shanks angrily as he responded.

Only then did she jolt as a gun was trained onto Shanks causing her to shake more forcibly as the Bandits laughed at Shanks predicament. The sound of a bullet going off pushed Atlantis back in shock as she fell into someone’s legs, only calming as she turned her face up to stare into the concerned eyes of Benn Beckman.

“It’ll be alright Angel.” He smiled at her before leaning down to drop a kiss onto her forehead, then straightening up to address the bandits. “Who’d you think you were dealing with? We never claimed to be saints. Or anything.”

Atlantis could only look on in awe as Shanks’ anger grew as he preached towards the bandits before Benn moved forward and intercepted the approaching bandits. It was as the smoke-filled the area and Atlantis desperately coughed to try and clear the area that the panic in her chest rose once more.

“Luffy,” Atlantis coughed as she stood on her shaking feet to move forward only stopping as she bumped into Shanks coat. Gripping tightly she looked up into his eyes, ones that were filled with panic that he tried desperately to mask now that she had approached him. “Luffy.”

“We’ll find him.” Shanks dropped in front of her, gripping her by the shoulders as he pulled her closer to him. “I will find him. I’ll make sure he’s not harmed any more, okay? I promise.”

Atlantis nodded as Shanks stood casting his eyes around the area before attempting to move away only stopping by the tight grip on the hem of his cloak. Turning back towards her he stopped to stare at the sight she made.

The hem of her dress, a new one from what he could tell, was dirtied and torn. Her bare feet were covered in filth and her hands shook as she refused to release her grip on his cloak. Tears poured down her cheeks as she stared up at him in pain and panic. Pulling his cloak from his shoulders, he wrapped it gently around her smiling as she bunched it together to keep it surrounding her, all the while the tears continued to pour.

“What about you?”

“Huh?” Shanks asked with a surprised chuckle while she grabbed for his hand. 

“You have to be okay, too. Not just Luffy.” Atlantis desperately gasped out as she clung to his hand tightly surprising Shanks as he looked at her in confusion.

“I…” Shanks shook his head with a fond smile before gesturing to Benn, who moved in to grab onto Atlantis lifting her into his arms. “I’m a pirate, so I’ll be fine.”

Shanks walked away from them confidently towards the peer with a fast gait, moving swiftly past the onlookers. Atlantis could only look on fearfully wondering one thing, would Shanks come back unharmed or not. She wondered if she had done enough to persuade him to not lose his arm, or maybe it was just something she couldn’t stop, but he hadn’t promised her. He hadn’t promised he would come back unharmed.

She jolted in surprise as Benn shifted her while dragging his hand through the tangles in her hair and began muttering, “Let’s get you looked at Angel.” 

She nodded in response hiding her eyes from Shanks disappearing form to hide her face in Benn’s neck, allowing a few tears to escape as she continued to shake. She couldn’t let go yet. Not until he came back. Not until she knew for sure that they were both okay. 

Shanks hadn’t promised, but it was Shanks. He would live.


	17. The King of the Sea

The wind blew in from the pier as Atlantis stopped at the door of the bar and cast her gaze to the shoreline in fear. The anxiety in her chest refused to rest even as Benn held onto her hand. Something just didn’t feel right, something was wrong.

She felt the sharp gravel on her feet before she realized she had broken away from Benn’s hand to run into the direction of the pier. Her breath fanned out in front of her harshly as she desperately pulled in air while running as fast as she could in the direction of the pier of Luffy.

The pain in her ankle sprouted once more and traveled her leg but she couldn’t stop. She shook as she fueled her feet in one direction, her path set and her legs unsteady. Unreliable but enough.

Her gaze finally settled on the combined figures of Luffy and Shanks as she reached the pier which was finally in her sight.

Blood. 

There was so much blood, so much. Luffy was in tears and Shanks had a smile on his face.

Atlantis stumbled to a stop as her eyes took in the image of Shanks, and the blood. He hadn’t promised. He hadn’t promised. But why, why didn’t he protect himself.    
  
His arm, he had given his arm up once more for their generation. For Luffy. He had placed his bet on Luffy and given up his dominant arm to prove it. 

Shanks.

Tears poured from her eyes as she furiously rubbed at her eyes, at least they were alive. At least Luffy was safe.

“Captain!” Atlantis startled as the pirate crew finally caught up to her from their more steady stroll, but the sight of their captain covered in blood sent them into a panic. 

“I'm alright,” Shanks shushed as he sat Luffy down onto the sidewalk as he sobbed. Once he was sat on the ground he latched onto Shanks pants in panic to prevent Shanks from running away.

Atlantis pushed through the crowd of pirates to get to the front of the crew and reached for the two. She dodged the hands that would stop her from reaching her goal and pounced in their direction, wrapping her arms around both Luffy and Shanks, ignoring the warm liquid soaking into the sleeve of her dress as she sobbed out turning her sight up to the shocked face of Shanks.

“Shanks!” She cried out while reaching her hands up towards him. He grimaced as he kneeled and used his arm, his only one left, to wrap around them while smiling through the pain.

“It’s okay Princess. It doesn’t even hurt.” He leaned down and planted a kiss onto her nose and winked before turning his attention to Luffy. “Ah come on, look at me, Anchor. Anchor. This isn’t your fault.”

“But your arm!” Luffy garbled out as he blindly reached out his hand, Atlantis loosened her grip on Shanks pants to throw hers out and lock it with his.

“It’s just an arm,” Shanks laughed as he waved his hand dismissively.

Yet Atlantis could see it. She could see the pain in his eyes that he tried desperately to mask in happiness. He wanted to be strong in front of Luffy. Luffy had continued to cry regardless of Shanks words but the tears halted in Atlantis’ eyes as she stared at him in amazement.

Red Haired Shanks was truly an amazing man.

Benn had approached while Shanks tried to calm the two and began putting pressure on the wound. He seemed unaffected but Atlantis could see it. In his eyes, he held worry for his captain, for the man he had chosen to follow around the world. There was fear too. Not much but there was enough for Atlantis to identify it, but he kept a front. 

Now that she noticed the way Benn and Shanks seemed to hide away their fear it appeared the entire crew was the same. They all controlled their words and movements. They appeared unaffected as if Shanks had truly just lost an arm and not his ability to defend himself to the fullest. 

The entirety of the Red-Haired Pirates was strong beyond words, it wasn't just the desire to be cool in front of children, it was their desire to protect. 

As Atlantis gazed at them she turned around and made eye contact with Benn, who had a slip of surprise show. He reached for her causing her to pull Luffy sharped behind her to fall into his arms beside Shanks.

“We will need to hit the waves soon,” Yasopp muttered as he kneeled to take a look at the wound. “It's about time we leave the island anyways.”

The crew moved swiftly as they loaded the ship while Atlantis reached out from the hold Benn had on them to grab onto Shanks’ hand, his only hand. “You'll be okay?”

“Yeah,” Shanks smiled as he brought her hand up to leave a kiss on her knuckles. “I'm a pirate after all.”

Atlantis chuckled bitterly as she climbed into Shanks’ lap to hold onto him tightly.

“One day,” Shanks muttered into her hair with a smile. “One day I will come back for you. I promise.”

Luffy struggled in Benn’s lap before moving to sit beside them with teary eyes.

Shanks laughed as he shook his head, “I didn’t forget about you anchor.” Shanks pulled the hat from his head with a fond smile before he hesitantly placed the hat onto Luffy’s head with a bright smile. “One day… you’ll be great enough a pirate to give this back to me.”

Shank pulled away from them slowly setting them on the pier before moving alongside Benn to board the Red Force slowly.

He turned back towards them as they set sail to watch them cry after him with a fond smile, “One day. I can’t wait for that day to come.”

“You’re insane.”

“Ah, this hurts like a motherfucker.” Shanks whined as he turned to face Benn. “Give me something to dull the pain.”

“Huh? Why should I listen to an idiot?”


	18. Prepare For Trouble

The news of Red-Haired Shanks reappearing from his year-long hiatus wasn’t shocking, sure the missing arm was pretty shocking. As the news had landed on Garp’s desk he had dismissed it as soon as he had seen it, but the news that Shanks had apparently been spotted near his home? That had sent Garp into overdrive and he had assigned himself to evaluate the East Blue Bases once more.

It was as he stepped onto the shores of Foosha Village did he know, you could tell from the ground that this island had seen a change. What truly gave it away was the hat sitting on Luffy’s head, a hat he had seen before. 

“GRANDKIDS!” Garp screamed as he ran for them, shocking them to fall over from where they had been playing in the sand. They barely had time to dodge before he had swept them up into his arms to tightly squeeze them to his chest. 

“Gramps! Let go!” Luffy squirmed and thrashed about as Atlantis sighed and gave up on escaping Garp’s arm before he was satisfied.

“Look at my little marines!” Garp wept as he swung around fastly to march towards the town.

“No! I’m going to be a pirate like Shanks!”

“No way in hell!” Garp screamed as he tossed Luffy ahead of him before gently setting her down before sprinting after Luffy to chase him down.

Sighing, she made her way to the bar before stopping to turn and stare at the marines casually sitting at the harbor waiting for the return of their boss. 

A brilliant idea popped into her head as she gleefully turned back to the bar, pushing the door open to find the boys already at the bar.

“Gramps,” She called out sweetly as she came to stand beside him with a smile on her face.

Garp turned to her happily as he placed his food down, which unbeknownst to him was immediately devoured by impatient hands. “What is it, my lovely granddaughter?”

“I want to go with you to learn how to fight. Can I join the marines?” 

Everyone in the bar stopped moving as Garp blinked down at her before his smile somehow began extremely large, “Yes! My granddaughter wants to be a marine!” Atlantis could only blink as she found herself being flung into the air as Garp happily cheered, meanwhile Luffy had already begun rapidly moving closer in protest.

“No!” Luffy angrily pouted as he began trying to climb up Garp’s back. “You can't go, Coco. You've got to stay here with me and become a pirate with me and be on my crew and and you just can't go be a marine.”

“Luffy,” Atlantis called as she reached for him causing Garp to sit her down with a smile before bolting off to demand his crew prepare a section for her. “I’m not going to be a marine. I’m going because I need to be stronger if I am going to be on your crew, but I promise that you will always come first.”

“Oh,” Luffy muttered as he scuffed his toe on the floorboard before stopping to turn to stare at Atlantis with tears building in his eyes. “You don’t need to get stronger. I can be strong enough for both of us.”

“Luffy, we both need to be ready if we are going to be pirates.” Atlantis chuckled sadly as she ruffled Luffy’s hair fondly.

“But you… you aren’t supposed to leave me. You’re supposed to be beside me forever.”

Garp stopped in his tracks as he stared down at Luffy with some unknown emotion shifting in his eyes. They stared at each other for an entire minute before Garp cracked a humorous smile, “Is that so?”

“Fuck,” Atlantis cursed as she stared at the shore of Foosha Village as Garp ordered the marines to move towards the next base on their list to check. She turned to stare at Luffy who was upset sitting on the railing staring out at the shores with an angry pout on his face.

Atlantis ran a hand over her face before dropping the bag Makino had rapidly packed for them to the ground and moving to sit beside Luffy to stare after their home fading rapidly from view. “At least we’re together, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Luffy smiled as he shoots up and turned to stare at the marine crew. Luffy cracked a grin as he turned his sight over the helpless marines who were focused on performing their duties. “As a pirate…”

_____

Luffy laughed as he pulled Atlantis from the ship to land on the soil of the island they had landed on while the poor marines shouted in dismay and relief as Luffy finally left them alone. Only for them to scream in horror as the two kids rounded the corner with giggles as one of Luffy’s remaining pranks was set off.

They giggled furiously to each other as Garp shouted out for them as they sprinted into an alleyway in hopes of preventing Garp from following after them.

Atlantis yelped as she face-planted hard into a warm surface before falling to the ground pulling Luffy down with her as she rubbed her nose.

“Captain Smoker!”

...Captain Smoker? Turning her face up she stared at the formed muscles in front of her in shock before turning her eyes further up to stare at the cautious eyes of Smoker who seemed frozen in place at the sight of children. Behind him, a young girl followed on his coattails and stared between the two of them as she came to a stop directly behind Smoker before turning her gaze to the children.

“You should hurry along children and find your parent.”

Atlantis jolted up at their comment and pulled Luffy to stand directly behind Smoker as Garp entered the alleyway.

“Well if it isn’t little Captain Smoker.” Garp laughed as he came to a stop in front of the frozen captain who snapped out of his daze to greet Garp. “You haven’t happened to see two little rascals running around here have you?”

Smoker quietly stepped to the side to reveal the glaring kids causing Garp to laugh as he reached out to snap Luffy by the back of his collar before he could run. 

“I called ahead asking if you needed a new apprentice,” Garp commented as he gestured to Atlantis who turned to stare at Smoker with wide eyes. “This is Atlantis, take her in for a few days before you give me a final decision. This little brat is Luffy,” Garp punctuated the comment by shaking him. “He’ll be staying with her for these few days.”

“Alright,” Smoker commented as he narrowed his eyes at the two kids before nodding his head in a direction. “I’ll show you where they can stay while they are here.”

Smoker guided them back towards the main marine base and the small homes built nearest to them. He made his way to the first one opening the door and guiding them in. “This is my room here but the rest of the rooms are open for your use while you stay here.”

“Quite close to you, huh?” Garp commented as he took in the small building.

“Yeah, when you said the children are six and eight, I figured having them close would be best for everyone involved.”

“Hmm, smart.” Garp commented before smiling as he slapped Smoker on his back, “Good luck. I’ll be back in a month when I finish my other evaluations.”

With that Garp was gone, leaving Smoker staring at the two kids who simply stood frozen staring at the man in question.


	19. A New Challenge

Atlantis sighed frustratedly as she planted her fist in the other kid's face. The older boy dropped to the ground with a pinched off scream as the others in the group backed off from her and Luffy. 

Spitting out in front of them she turned to the ring leader with a smile, “Say it again. I don't think I heard you right the first time.”

The group backed off from her with scared eyes as they went back and forth between her tense form and Luffy's clenched expression as he gazed down at another kid that he had knocked to the ground. Quickly they jumped up and called out to a passing Marine while pointing fingers at them.

“These brats attacked us when we tried to help them,” the ring leader cried as the marine stopped. Quickly the kid allowed a smirk to grace his face as the marine approached them with a disapproving glare. Atlantis pulled Luffy back as the man prepared to start lecturing them only to stop and salute.

With a sigh, Atlantis turned to watch as Smoker approached them with a questioning eyebrow raised. “If they can't hold up against someone fighting back they should pick better targets,” Atlantis muttered as she wiped her fist off on her pants.

Meanwhile, Luffy stuck his tongue out at the kids before grabbing onto Atlantis’ sleeve and waving at Smoker, “Hi smokey.”

Smoker shook his head before dismissing the marine standing in front of him. “These two are mine.”

The marine turned shocked eyes to stare at Atlantis’ white hair than to Smokers before backing away with a surprised expression. “Yessir!”

“What happened?”Smoker asked as he turned and began to walk away, causing them to follow after them.

“Loser didn’t like that I was a girl,” Atlantis muttered as she turned to glare back at the marine recruit she had punched.

“Loser,” Smoker and Luffy muttered at the same time. Quietly they turn to stare at each other with narrowed eyes before turning back to face forward.

Smoker moved them back into his training area as he sat down in the middle of the platform. With a sigh, Luffy moved over to the side to work on his aim while Atlantis came to sit in front of Smoker.

“Alright,” Smoker breathed as he manifested his devil fruit powers. “Think about your powers alright and then try to imagine the same thing that happened before okay?”

Atlantis nodded her head while she closed her eyes and began to think about the spirit ring she was wearing. Or at least that's what she had begun to call it. The ring had manifested a weapon before but she couldn't explain that to Smoker without questions so she had lied and claimed it to be a devil fruit.

This had led them to this exact moment, Smoker was insistent on her learning to utilize her power and they had begun lessons to try and draw out the weapon.

Of course, Smoker had also begun training her with many different weapons in mind, while also setting aside meditation times to work on her power. Until they knew more about her power meditation was all they could do. 

Atlantis tried to manifest the sword she had seen before. The one she had summoned to protect her and Luffy all those years ago. She had summoned it once but never again. Unlike that sword, she was able to quite easily summon a different sword, a broad sword.

It was a beautiful sword, but it was large and thick. The handle started with a deer face and then horns branched out making a set of antlers that surrounded the grip. It was a beautiful sword, one she had come to call Mriga’s Totem. The name coming from the fact that it represents a warning to the future if someone is to face this blade. Its full capabilities are unknown but it is known that the blade is capable of landing a blow before it is swung as long as the blade follows through with the swing. It was intriguing to see damage occur before the weapon landed on its mark, but it was intriguing. If this blade could do this then what of the other one, what if there were more? Other than that the blade held no other abilities. While intriguing it truly meant little to her, if someone dodged the blade they would need to dodge the pre-slash or it would land. It was nifty but if she couldn't hit someone in time or get close it meant nothing to her.

While thinking about this she felt a weight form in her hands. At first, she expected it to be Mriga but instead, she felt a lighter weight. Opening her eyes she came face to face with the first sword she had ever summoned. A black katana with a purple gem and line etched into its blade allows for her to predict the movements of an opponent before they enact those movements. She had found that it could sense those who would betray her, hence the fight from before. She had begun to call it The Omen. 

With a smile she showed Smoker proudly who nodded his head before clearing his throat, “That took a lot less time than before. See if you can summon something else.”

With a grunt, she narrowed her eyes before relinquishing the weapon and thinking of something else. Something like how hungry she was. ‘Dang, it would be nice if I could summon food. Sadly I already tried that and it didn't work.’

“Grandpa is here!” Garp shouted as he busted into the training facility causing both of the kids to shoot up in response and ready a stance. Smoker simply sighed as he moved out of the way while Garp chased the two children in circles.

“Go away, Geezer!” Luffy shouted as he tried to escape Garp who simply laughed. 

“Fist of Love!”

“Gramps calm down,” Atlantis muttered as she backed up into Smoker with her hands up in a calm gesture.

Garp laughed before he turned his attention to Smoker, “Have you decided?”

“Yeah.” Smoker huffed as he placed a hand on Atlantis’ shoulder. “I’ll train her, but not him.”

“Noooo,” Luffy whined with a pout as he ran to grab onto Atlantis. “I didn't want to be here anyway, Smokey.”

“Then get lost,” Smoker grumbled as he patiently moved aside as Atlantis patted Luffy’s head.

“I won't stay away long Luffy. I just have to attend an initiation and then I can come back home for a while.” Luffy whined as he tightened his grip on her before moving away slowly.

“I understand.” Luffy nodded his head with a pout. “I don't like it, but I understand.”

“I’ll be back soon. Just a few months okay?”

“Okay, you better be back then or I’ll come to find you.” Luffy threatened before he mopingly made his way with Garp back to the ship.

Atlantis watched them go until she jumped as Smoker tossed a staff to her. “Training time.”

“Okay,” Atlantis sighed as she moved into the proper stance to stare Smoker down. She was doing this for Luffy. So it didn’t matter how much it hurt to be apart from him for the first time in almost four years. Plus Luffy would have Ace soon. He wouldn't be alone, not for long. He'd be okay and she would become stronger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Atlantis weapon is a spirit ring that can summon different types of weapons to her when she calls them. As of now, I have revealed two of the weapons but there are more to come. The weapons aren't as powerful as most one piece weapons and the ones that can rival powerful weapons have consequences and drawbacks.


	20. The Ones Chosen By Death

Atlantis grunted as she pulled on the large bag she had dragging behind her, quickly scrabbling to not fall as the weight suddenly disappeared. Flinging herself around she came face to face with the judging eyes of Smoker who simply raised an eyebrow at her before brushing past her with her bag in hand.

Scurrying after him with a smile Atlantis calmly walked past him as she took in the dock before gleefully making her way to the correct ship. Smoker followed behind at a calm and slow pace only stopping once she found a nice spot to sit to put her bag down beside her.

Narrowing his eyes at her relaxed form, he lightly kicked her in the side to get her attention. Once she opened her eyes to stare at him did he finally comment, “You aren’t acting like a good marine.”

“Oops,” Atlantis sheepishly commented as she crossed her ankles causing Smoker to narrow his eyes even further before huffing as he gave up. 

“Just be careful.” With a wave Smoker turned away from her to make his way off the boat as Atlantis chuckled at his reaction from behind him.

“Aw, you do care.” She called after him watching gleefully as he quickened his pace before falling back against the railing to relax into her spot waiting for Garp’s arrival, closing her eyes she shifted her shoulders to get comfortable.

It only took a few minutes before she fell asleep, especially with the extra lessons Smoker had been trying to beat into her which took away from the time she had to relax or sleep. For the past few weeks, Atlantis had been the most alone she had ever felt, and in a way, Smoker had fixed that by taking all of her free time away.

There hadn’t been a moment when she could even think of missing Luffy because Smoker had filled the time entirely. The only time the thought could enter her head was when she was alone, but Smoker had a solution for everything it seemed. The times she couldn’t fall asleep she would find Smoker sitting at the kitchen table eating something. An invitation to join was always presented and it was always easier to return to her bed and fall into sleep with the reassuring thought that Smoker was sitting right outside. 

The jolting of the ship awoke her as the marines rushed to tie off the boat to the dock. To the dock? Sitting up in shock she took in the shore of Foosha Village and Garp’s retreating back. Jumping up she dodged in between the rushing marines to jump onto the pier and follow after the large steps of Garp.

Garp waited for her patiently outside Partys Bar with Makino, her bag sitting in the doorway as they both watched Atlantis approach them. Huffing she glared at Garp as he shook his head with a laugh, “Stay here. I’ll go find that brat.”

With a huff Atlantis watched Garp make his way to the mountain before turning to enter the bar alongside an excited Makino, “How was it?”

“It was exhausting, but Smoker was nice to me so it was kinda fun,” Atlantis exclaimed as she jumped up to sit in a chair beside Makino. “Oh, and Smoker took me to this festival thing…”

Meanwhile, Garp made his way to the treehouse where he found his three troublesome grandsons shouting about someone getting eaten by crocodiles or something. With a shake of his head, he burst into the clearing laughing at the shouts of horror his presence sprouted, “There you brats are!”

“Go away!” Ace screamed out as the boys tried to run away from Garp’s Fist of Love.

Garp laughed in glee as he chased each one down individually and delivered his specialty. Dazed and in pain they groaned as they clutched their heads while laying on the ground as Garp looked down on them fondly before clearing his throat. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Sabo groaned while shaking his head, Ace froze in horror, while Luffy quickly jumped up excitedly dancing around conveniently forgetting about the pain he had just been in. “Is it meat?”

“Nope,” Garp commented with a sly grin as he took in the quizzing faces of his grandsons. “It's something better than meat.”

“No way,” Ace shook his head in denial with a sigh. “Knowing you it’s a marine offer or something along those lines. I’m good. No surprises wanted here.”

Sabo nodded his head along while Luffy tilted his head curiously before he startled into falling over, his nose twitching. Jumping up Luffy quickly sniffed Garp cautious shocking his brother and grandfather as they stared at him confused. Pouting Luffy pulled back to stare at his grandfather in disappointment and betrayal expression building on his face as he continued to take in the scent attached to Garp, “You smell like Coco and Smokey.”

“What?” Sabo whispered to Ace as he tried to find a combination that made sense with smoke and cocoa, maybe a slice of flavored meat? 

“I don’t even know. Maybe it’s food?” Ace whispered back as they continued to take in the staring competition between their little brother and their grandfather. 

Garp stared at him in surprise before sighing in defeat as he gestured towards the trail. “Makes sense. She’s waiting for you.”

The moment he had gestured Luffy had taken off in a shot with a large grin as he hollered while racing down the hill causing his brothers to shocking bolt after him leaving Garp behind shaking his head fondly before he started chasing after them while yelling at Luffy to slow down.

Luffy on the other hand had no care for what they wanted as he ran as fast as he could towards the village, his heart beating out of control as he lost control of the wide grin on his face.

She had come back. She was back.


	21. And You Are?

Atlantis swung her feet back and forth as she waited patiently, the bar was quiet except for the sounds of the broom scraping on the ground as Makino quietly hummed to herself. It wasn’t until the shouts of villagers did Atlantis allow her smile to widen as she hopped down from the counter to approach the window.

From outside the window, a small area of the road was actually viewable from the window and showed very few members of the village. In fact, Atlantis could practically see nothing but the road from the window.

With a sigh, she prepared herself to have to wait outside when a blur passed by the bar. Startled, she rushed to pull the door open, only to find Luffy’s back as he launched himself towards the docks with an excited holler.

“Luffy,” Atlantis sighed with a shake of her head as she exited the building with a fond smile. As she started to make her way towards the docks she was quickly passed by two other boys who were panting from exertion but continued forward.

Pausing she took in their appearances, they didn’t appear to be village kids she was familiar with but if they were chasing Luffy that couldn’t be good. Although, one of them could very well be Ace, the other one? The blond? As Atlantis pondered on her memories of One Piece she began regretting not staying up to date because while she knew about Ace’s death, everything after came in a fog of rumors. Actually, now that she thought about it, doesn't Luffy have a second brother?

“Ah! Granddaughter? Where’s that brat?” Garp confusedly moved looked around her while scratching the back of his head as he stopped to stand beside Atlantis. Muttering to himself he peeked around Atlantis to look into the bar, “Thought I would have to pry him away from you.”

“He headed to the dock.” Atlantis giggled as she gestured towards the mentioned dock where yells could now be heard.

Sighing Garp nodded his head before walking beside Atlantis to head towards the disappointed yells. Upon reaching the pier Luffy shouted in anger while pointing a finger at his grandfather. “You lied to me!”

Luffy was fuming in anger as the other two boys were gesturing for him to get off the box he had climbed onto. Garp sighed exasperatedly while Atlantis giggled, bringing a hand up to cover the sound as she hid behind Garp.

At the sound, Garp narrowed his eyes as he turned to stare at her before moving out of the way causing her to become the attention of the three boys. While the other two seemed confused, Luffy immediately brightened up as he launched himself into the air, “COCO!”

Closing her eyes Atlantis braced for impact, puffing out a gasp of air as she was thrown backward by the force of the impact, ending both her and Luffy sprawling onto the ground. Laughter filled the air as Luffy tightened his grip around her and hid his smile into her neck.

With a smile of her own Atlantis brought her arms up to wrap around Luffy with a bright smile, “Well hello to you, too. You look good Luffy.”

“You came back,” Luffy muttered into her side excitedly causing her to let out a strained chuckle as she shook her head.

“I promised, did I not?”

“Brat!” Garp screamed out as he attempted to pry Luffy off of Atlantis, pulling both of them into the air as he held Luffy by the back of his shirt. 

“Luffy! GEEZER! Let him go!” Ace screamed as he kicked Garp in the shin causing Garp to hiss quietly as he dropped the two causing them to giggle and roll away. 

Standing up Atlantis stopped Garp in his tracks by pointing at his red angry face with a laugh, “You look like Smoker when…” Abruptly Atlantis sheepishly cut off her response with an awkward chuckle before turning back to Luffy. “I, uh, brought gifts?”

“Yay!” Luffy cheered as he danced around in a circle. “Meat! Meat! Meat!”

“Yeah,” Atlantis sighed dejectedly as she nodded her head slowly while slumping her shoulders. “It is meat.”

Luffy jumped into the air while a large smile before grabbing onto Atlantis’ wrist to shoot down the path to the town, leaving behind the two shocked boys and a laughing Garp. Upon noticing they were alone with Garp the boys took off directly behind Luffy frantically calling out for Luffy to stop or slow down, but Luffy appeared to be unable to hear them over the wind in his ears.

Luffy vaulted into the bar wall as he tripped over the bag in the way with a shout causing Atlantis to crash into the barstool to the other side with a pained grunt.

Ace and Sabo skidded to a stop behind them, choking off a laugh in their throat before Ace rushed over to help Luffy up, berating him all the while for running away. Sabo cautiously stepped towards Atlantis as she rubbed the back of her head before holding a hand out to her with a hesitant smile.

“Hi,” His voice was slightly breathless and his hands were already sweating as Atlantis grabbed ahold of his hand to bring herself to a stand. Once standing she noticed that she was taller than the boys, not by much by enough to make her appear older, a blush had risen to the blond boy’s cheeks as he stared at Atlantis face while gulping.

“Hello,” Atlantis nodded her head with a smile, tilting her head to the side, a habit she had picked up from Luffy that seemed impossible to break. “What’s your name?”

“Sabo,” The boy greeted politely while tipping the top hat off his head and bowing to her. Ace and Luffy had made their way closer with Luffy smiling brightly, standing beside Atlantis and Ace glowering at her with a slight flush to his cheeks. “Um, and you are?”

“Atlantis. It’s a pleasure to meet you Sabo and...” She stopped to take in the boy that could only be First Fist Ace as a child. The freckled boy wouldn’t meet her eye as he glared at the side of her face with the red flush on his face steadily rising in intensity.

“Luffy,” the boy called as he turned to instead glare at his brother furiously while gesturing to the curious girl looking at them. “Who the hell is this?!”

“This is Coco,” Luffy cheerfully jumped back and forth on the heels of his feet before darting forward to wrap Atlantis in a hug while he smiled happily. “Coco. This is my big brother’s Ace and Sabo.”

“Hmm,” Atlantis hummed with a fond smile as she took in Ace’s fierce expression and Sabo’s cautious smile. “I happy you weren’t alone while I was gone.”

Luffy deflated as he turned puppy dog eyes back onto Atlantis expectantly, “You aren’t leaving again right?”

A restrained sad expression crossed Atlantis’ face as she ran a hand through Luffy’s hair disappointedly. “Not right now, but eventually I will have to go back to pick up my training with Smoker.”

“That’s okay,” Luffy nodded his head slowly as he took in what she had to say. “It’s only for now after all.”


End file.
